


Friends and Enemies

by Ana (Anafandom)



Series: Alliance [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU, Canon Divergence - Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Civil War Team Iron Man, Gen, Odin (Marvel)'s A+ Parenting, background frostiron, but Tony only has a tiny cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23533072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anafandom/pseuds/Ana
Summary: Following the events of A Fruitful Alliance, Thor is now King of Asgard while Loki is spending his days on Earth with Tony. With Odin's death, a new danger threatens Asgard, and Thor and Loki will have to work together to save the realm.A very *very* loose retelling of Ragnarok (meaning I took the elements I wanted from it and ignored the rest). Or: Thor and Loki’s space adventure.
Relationships: Loki & Thor
Series: Alliance [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693525
Comments: 225
Kudos: 902





	1. Goddess of death

**Author's Note:**

> So, I finished this on Sunday, then spent almost 2 days thinking of a title so I could actually post it. Why are titles so hard, damn it? *sigh*
> 
> While this is a sequel to A Fruitful Alliance, Tony doesn't actually appear in this until the very end (though he's mentioned), and thus the Frostiron is only in the background. 
> 
> I'm still planning to do an IW story for this series, but I needed to tackle Ragnarok first since it sets up a lot of things, and I actually have some ideas for that already. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one, and let me know what you think. Also, I hope you're all doing well and keeping safe.

Thor finished signing another batch of orders and leaned back in his chair. Paperwork, he had discovered, was exhausting – not to mention boring. Still, he knew it was necessary, and an important part of being king. Not the glamorous part he had always dreamed of, but the real one – this was what actually kept the realm working.

He had been at it for quite some time, and finally it was done. He stood and stretched, mind going over all the other things he still had to do. There seemed to be a never-ending list of mind-numbing tasks waiting for him every day. And tomorrow was petition day, which meant more paperwork to prepare for all the matters he was required to rule over.

“My King,” a servant said, entering the study. “You are being summoned to the throne room.”

“Why? What has happened?” Thor asked with a frown.

“I do not know. I was only asked to inform you.”

“Very well.”

As he walked, Thor couldn’t help the feeling of dread that began in his gut. It had been nearly a year since he had taken the crown, though it felt like an eternity. There had been so much to do that he had hardly had time to breathe. He had had to familiarize himself with every single thing in Asgard, every treaty they had, every contract with everyone both in Asgard and out, every important person who reported to him and their jobs, and a lot of little things he had never thought about. It would have been a lot more overwhelming if Loki hadn’t prepared him at least a little (both while pretending to be Odin and later). Even so, Thor had found himself utterly lost at times. Life had certainly been easier when he was just Prince, and his responsibilities had been much fewer.

There was no use complaining, though. He was King, so he had to do his best. Be careful what you wish for was a very apt human saying, Thor had found.

Fortunately, despite the enormity of the task, there hadn’t been a lot of problems, and he had made no major mistakes so far. Of course there had been a few issues, some things he hadn’t handled in the best way, but those had been minor – and easily excused given that he was still learning, and that, for the most part, people liked him.

He was, however, well aware that he wouldn’t have been nearly as successful without Loki’s advice. His brother had come to Asgard a few times to see him and help him through some hurdles. It was not the same as having him at his side as an official advisor, but it was better than nothing. Thor had given Loki a ‘posthumous’ royal pardon, yet he was aware that such a decree was not enough to get people to accept Loki.

He put all those thoughts aside as he entered the throne room. There were three women standing there looking nervous. Thor only recognized Lady Eir, the palace’s chief healer.

“My King,” she said, bowing respectfully. The others did the same.

“Lady Eir,” Thor returned the bow and approached. “Is there something the matter?”

She hesitated before speaking, which made Thor even more nervous.

“I have been monitoring King Odin and… I am concerned with the way his energy is fluctuating.”

Thor frowned. “What do you mean? Is he ill?”

“I… am not certain. He should be… more stable.”

“Is there anything you can do?” Thor did not really understand the Odinsleep, but he knew that it did not usually last this long – though of course Eir didn’t know that Odin had been unconscious since the Dark Elves had been defeated, and he could not tell her. As far as she knew, it had not been long at all.

“We are doing our best, my King, but I felt you should be… aware.”

“Of course. Keep me apprised of any changes.”

She bowed again but did not depart. The other women with her shifted uncomfortably.

“Is there something else?” he asked.

“Yes. We have detected… an anomaly.”

“Anomaly? What sort of anomaly?”

“It is… a magical anomaly,” she replied cautiously, as if she was afraid of his reaction.

Thor sighed and went to sit on the throne, wishing fervently for Loki. He had never troubled himself to learn anything about magic. In fact, he had disparaged it (and by extension, Loki) many times, as if it was beneath him. Over the last several months, he had discovered that magic was an integral part of Asgard and the way everything functioned. It was not just the Bifrost, but all defensive systems and most of the infrastructure also relied on magic in some way. As King, he was connected to the magic of the whole realm, and it was a _lot_. The only reason he had not buckled completely under the pressure of it was because Loki had taught him many techniques to handle it. He was under no illusion that he actually knew what to do with it, though.

“Please explain,” he told Eir.

“In the simplest terms, we have detected an energy that should not be there. One that we cannot pinpoint the origin of.”

“Is it related to Father?”

She gave a helpless shrug. “I am not certain. It is odd that we have detected it now, when he seems to be growing weaker.”

“I thought you said his energy was fluctuating.” What did that even mean? Thor wondered. He should have asked more questions before. His mother had known quite a lot about how the Odinsleep worked, and now that knowledge was out of his reach. As was she, and he missed her.

“Yes. It gets weaker, then returns to normal, then weakens again.”

“It that not normal for the Odinsleep?”

“Not on those levels.”

“And the anomaly?”

“It seems to get stronger when Odin grows weaker.”

“Can this be some kind of attack on Father?” Who could do such a thing? And why? Loki had worked hard to stabilize relations with the other realms. It would make no sense for any of them to attack Odin, especially now that Thor was King. As far as he could tell, the others were pleased that Odin was gone. There had not been a great deal of love for Odin from the other realms.

“It is possible.”

“But you do not think so,” he said. There had been something doubtful in her voice.

“No, I do not.”

“What do you think it is, then?” He turned to the others. “If any of you have a theory, I would hear it.”

One of the women took a small step forward and bowed. “My King, I… I do have a theory.”

Thor nodded. “What is your name?”

“Hingl, My King,” she answered, her voice a little strained.

“And what is your theory, Hingl?”

“I think… I think the Allfather is… blocking something. As he weakens, the magic he is blocking strengthens.”

Thor tried to remember what little he knew of magical theory. The idea seemed to make sense. “What sort of magic do you think it is?”

She shook her head. “That I don’t know, My King. But it is strong. And getting stronger.”

“Can you do anything to keep blocking it? Until we find out what is it, at least.” He really wished Loki was here. Thor was quite useless when it came to matters of magic.

“We can try,” Eir replied, “but without knowing what it is, it will not be easy.”

“Can you tell if it’s malignant?”

Hingl shook her head again. “I have no idea what it is. It is not a magical signature we recognize.”

Thor sighed. He would have to ask Loki about it. “Thank you for alerting me to the situation. Let me know if there is anything you need to study it further or… anything that can help you identify it. Notify me immediately if something happens.”

They bowed and left. Not for the first time, Thor wished there was a way to contact Midgard directly so he could speak to Loki. Tony had not yet been successful in inventing a phone that could accomplish that, though according to Loki it was only a matter of time. Apparently Tony considered it a matter of pride now.

When he returned to his chambers, Thor sat on his bed and attempted to meditate as Loki had taught him, hoping to be able to sense this magical anomaly. After nearly an hour, however, Thor had to concede defeat. He could not sense anything out of the ordinary.

Could this be Thanos? he wondered. It didn’t seem likely. Surely Odin would have said something if he had known about Thanos – wouldn’t he?

In truth, Thor had no idea what his father would or wouldn’t do. He didn’t know Odin at all. And he didn’t know what to do about this. A magical threat was probably not something he would be able to fight by himself. Though he had once believed that his strength would be enough for anything, now he knew better. He would need Loki for this.

*****

Loki arrived in Asgard and made himself invisible. Before going in search of Thor, he decided to go for a little walk outside the palace grounds. He wanted to see how the common people were doing under Thor’s rule.

The townsfolk he passed by seemed content enough, he noted. There was no sign of rebellion or disgruntlement in any of the taverns he visited in disguise. A few years ago, Loki would not have thought Thor capable of being a good king, but his brother seemed to be doing quite well. Of course, the people were pre-disposed to like him, but even they would have noticed if Thor had allowed the realm to fall into ruin. So far nothing terrible had happened, and Thor had continued with the plans Loki had begun during his own tenure as king.

The bitterness over the people’s preference for Thor was no longer present in his thoughts. He really didn’t care anymore that no one would ever know he had been a good ruler – he no longer needed Asgard’s validation and approval. He had forged his own path, and it was a truer path than any he had walked before. And more importantly, it was not a path he had to walk alone. He had Tony by his side. The fact that the man was a mortal whose lifespan was so ridiculously short did prey heavily on Loki’s mind, but he had not yet come up with a solution for that. There were ways to expand a mortal’s life, though they were neither simple nor easy. Still, Loki was determined to find a way. Perhaps while he was here he could borrow a few books from the library that might help him in that endeavor.

Having done as much wandering as he felt was necessary, he returned to the palace, once again becoming invisible. He made his way through the hallways and to the throne room, but the guards were just closing the door on the empty room. He then re-directed his steps to the King’s study, and that was where he found his brother, pouring over books and tomes with a frustrated expression on his face. Well, at least he was no longer avoiding reading.

“Something the matter?” he said, shedding the invisibility.

Thor jumped and fell into a defensive stance before realizing who it was. He didn’t reprimand Loki, though, and that kind of took the fun out of startling him.

“Loki, I am glad you are here. There is something wrong with Father.” Thor went directly to the point, and that told Loki the matter was a serious one.

“What do you mean?”

So Thor explained what Lady Eir and her apprentices had said several days ago. “Do you know anything of this? Did you notice anything amiss while you were impersonating Odin?”

Loki frowned, trying to recall if he had sensed anything unusual during his time yielding the magic of Asgard. “No, I do not think so. But if the magic was Odin’s, and therefore had always been there, I would not have recognized it. Besides, I didn’t really look too deep into it.” He had not been particularly interested in any of it. Being Odin had been a means to an end, and not something he had wanted to do for long.

“Do you believe it could be an attack on Father?” Thor asked.

“Odin has made lots of enemies, that is true, but I can’t think of anyone who seemed particularly angry lately. Whoever is king in Jotunheim now that Laufey is dead would have the most reason, but I cannot see how they would do so.” Laufey’s death – and its consequences for the realm – was something Loki avoided thinking about. He knew now he had made the wrong decision in killing him, but he was not yet ready to confront that – and the associated mess of his own identity. “I believe Hingl’s theory is correct.”

“Can you… look at the energies? I tried to do as you taught me, but I could sense nothing.”

“Very well.”

Loki sat on the floor, closed his eyes and let his mind reach out to the magic of Asgard. After millennia of living here and his few years as king, it was intimately familiar to him, so it did not take him long to sense what Lady Eir and her apprentices had noticed. There was something there, something foreign. Something strong that was seeking entrance. Something dangerous.

“I see it,” Loki said. “I don’t know what it is, but it feels… almost like… I have sensed it before.”

“You have?”

“No, I don’t think so. It is… similar to something I’ve felt before.”

“Where? How?”

Loki opened his eyes and glared at Thor. “Perhaps if you would stay quiet and let me concentrate, I might find out.”

“Sorry,” his brother replied sheepishly.

While Thor went back to his desk to riffle idly through his papers, Loki continued to examine the mysterious magical energy. What could Odin be blocking, and why? Who would be powerful enough to fight the magic of Asgard? Loki really didn’t know of anyone. It couldn’t be Thanos. Though the Titan was powerful, he was not, as far as Loki was aware, capable of wielding this kind of magic. Maybe if he had the Mind Stone, but he didn’t. That was in Vision, far from his reach. None of the other Stones would be able to do this.

After an undetermined amount of time, Loki was forced to give up. He could not tell where the magic was coming from, or what its purpose was. Neither did he know why it seemed so familiar. It appeared that they would have no choice but to wait and see.

Of course, Thor wasn’t at all happy with that.

“Can you stay, Loki?” he asked. “I am worried about this, and it is not something I can fight against on my own.”

As much as Loki wanted to say that Asgard was no longer his problem, he couldn’t. Not when Thor was asking. Not when he did so because he recognized his own limitations, and the fact that, in this arena, it was Loki who had the necessary skills and knowledge. It certainly felt good to be valued, especially by his brother.

“I cannot stay indefinitely, but I suppose I can wait a couple of days to see if we can discover something else.”

“Thank you.”

*****

On Loki’s advice, Thor called the most powerful sorceresses of Asgard for a meeting regarding the matter. He wanted to be as prepared as possible for whatever happened in the event that Loki had to leave before they had dealt with the issue. As he spoke with Lady Eir, her apprentices and a few others, he heard a few of the women mutter that if Loki were here they would not need to worry so much.

“Prince Loki would have known what to do,” one of the apprentices said.

She had clearly not meant for Thor to hear it, so she startled quite badly when Thor looked directly at her.

“What did you say?”

The woman went pale. “My King, I didn’t… I mean…”

Thor decided to take pity on her. It had not escaped his notice that they all looked at him with suspicious and distrust. “I, too, wish Loki was here. His advice would surely be invaluable and welcomed.”

Quite a few of them seemed surprised to hear him say so, and Thor had to curse himself – and Odin – for dismissing Loki’s talents so often in the past. This whole thing would have been much easier if Loki didn’t have to pretend to be dead.

“I miss my brother,” Thor said sincerely. “I wish I had shown him more respect when he was here to appreciate it.” He offered a sad smile. “Did you know Loki, er… Sorry, what is your name?”

“Sylvi, My King.” She bowed, a little less nervous now. “And yes, I did. Prince Loki taught me a lot.”

Thor had to fight not to show his surprise. He had known, vaguely, that Loki sometimes took on students, but he knew very little beyond that basic fact. Why had he never taken any interest in Loki’s activities? As he glanced around the room, he realized that most of these women (the younger ones, certainly), could have, at some point, been Loki’s students.

As much as it pained him to once again be confronted with how little he knew about his brother’s life, seeing the sorceresses’ obvious respect for Loki made him more hopeful that he would have support when he eventually announced Loki’s continued survival. At least a portion of Asgard’s population would be happy to have their prince back, it seemed.

Once the meeting had wrapped up, Thor made his way to the Bifrost to speak to Heimdall. It had occurred to him while speaking to the sorceresses that the Gatekeeper should also be informed of the situation. Moreover, Thor had realized that, if he could get Heimdall to accept Loki, that would go a long way towards making the rest of Asgard do the same. So Thor explained what was going and made sure to remark on how much Loki’s absence was felt.

Heimdall did not say anything, but Thor could see a slight tightening of the man’s jaw when Loki was mentioned. At any other time, Thor might have let it go. However, circumstances were such that Thor would likely need Loki by his side to face this threat, and he would not have time to deal with Heimdall’s suspicions and disbelief. Or worse, an attack on Loki.

After several conversations with Loki (as well as Tony, Rhodes and Vision while he’d been on Midgard), Thor had come to see the events that had led to Loki’s fall from the Bifrost in a much different light. For starters, he had not known about Loki’s terrible discovery of his true origin. He had had no context to understand Loki’s actions, and only his friends’ opinions that Loki was acting out of jealousy. It _had_ been a factor, Loki had confessed, but most of it had been pure desperation as he had seen his whole life fall apart.

Thor had learned that it had been Heimdall who had delayed calling Odin after their illegal (and ill-advised) departure to Jotunheim, therefore allowing the situation to escalate needlessly. Heimdall had also directly and purposefully disobeyed Loki’s orders to let Lady Sif and the Warriors Three go to Midgard to see Thor. At the time, Loki had been the rightful king and Thor had been (rightfully) banished, so it had been a double treason – against Loki and against Odin himself. And yet Heimdall had suffered no consequences, and neither had Thor’s friends. While Thor was sure they had all had good intentions, it did not change the fact that they had all betrayed Loki, Prince (and King) of Asgard. And since none of them had known about Loki being Jotun, they had done so because they did not trust or like Loki, not because he was a supposed enemy.

It had been disheartening to learn that Thor himself had contributed to that mistrust by his own treatment of Loki, so he felt it was his duty to do something about it now, to give Loki the credit and recognition he deserved.

“I wish Loki was here,” Thor said again, more firmly this time. “I would be quite happy to have my brother back with us.” When Heimdall still said nothing, Thor continued. “Do you have any insight into the situation we are facing, Heimdall?”

“I do not, My King. But I shall remain alert in order to protect Asgard.”

“You do not know much about magic, do you, Heimdall?”

“I am the Gatekeeper, My King, not a sorcerer.”

“That’s a shame. I could really use a sorcerer right now. Loki was a very powerful sorcerer. I did not fully appreciate him while he was here, and I deeply regret it now. I think we all took him for granted, to Asgard’s great detriment.”

“Loki did not belong in Asgard, My King,” Heimdall finally said, and Thor turned to fully look at him.

“And why is that?”

“He was not one of us.”

“He was my brother. Queen Frigga’s son. King Odin’s son. It should matter not that he did not share blood with us. He was a Prince of Asgard, and will always be.” Thor glared at Heimdall. “He deserved your allegiance and obedience, Gatekeeper, and yet he did not get it. One might consider it treason.”

“Loki was never king.”

“The Allmother herself put Gugnir in his hands and gave him the throne. And she was right to do so.”

“A mother’s folly.”

Now Thor grew angry. “Have a care how you speak, Heimdall. I will not tolerate any disrespect towards Loki. He is my brother and a Prince of Asgard. I don’t know what issue you have with him, but you will not disparage him in my presence, or I will have to seriously consider that treason charge.”

Heimdall bowed his head, expression unreadable. It appeared that it would not be a simple matter to convince the Gatekeeper to trust Loki, and Thor once again cursed himself for his part in undermining Loki’s place in Asgard.

“Let me know if anything or anyone approaches Asgard,” Thor said through clenched teeth. He spun Mjolnir and flew back to the palace.

*****

Being back in Asgard worrying about a possible threat was not Loki’s idea of fun. He wanted to be in Midgard in his lover’s arms, relaxing and laughing. Unfortunately, he could not abandon Thor. Their relationship had improved tremendously since Thor had learned that Loki was still alive. It was not perfect – no sibling relationship ever was – but it seemed to be on much more equal footing now. Thor was no longer dismissive and disdainful. In fact, it looked as if he had finally realized how important magic was to all of Asgard.

When Thor returned from his meeting with the sorceresses, he was in a sour mood, and it made Loki wary.

“What is the matter?” He asked cautiously.

“Heimdall.”

Loki blinked. That was not what he’d been expecting at all. What had the Gatekeeper done to displease Thor? Before he had a chance to ask, however, a guard knocked on the door.

“My King, you are needed in Odin’s chamber immediately!”

Thor and Loki exchanged worried glances and left right away, Loki making himself invisible once more.

They found Lady Eir hovering over the bed where Odin slept weaving spells with a concerned expression.

“His energy is fading fast. I’m sorry, Sire, there is nothing I can do.”

Thor took a deep breath and approached, taking hold of Odin’s hand. “Father? It’s me. Can you hear me? Please…”

Loki could see that it was no use. He, too, could sense Odin’s life energy ebbing away. It had remained strong during the time Loki had spent as king, but now it almost gone. Had this been a natural process or had someone or something interfered? It bothered him that he did not know.

In a few minutes, the energy was gone entirely. Odin was dead. He had not woken. There had been no last words.

Lady Eir bowed and said a quiet prayer for Odin’s safe passage to Valhala.

Thor stood shakily and looked around. “Loki? I… Brother, please…”

Rarely had Loki seen Thor so lost. Though Loki himself did not know how he felt about Odin’s death at this moment, he knew that it was a blow to Thor. Ignoring Lady Eir’s presence (and hoping he wasn’t making a terrible mistake), Loki made himself visible to embrace his brother.

“I’m sorry, Thor,” he said. Out of the corner of his mind, he saw Lady Eir watching them, though she did not appear surprised to see Loki. When she noticed him looking, she gave him a small smile and left the room. Loki wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he didn’t have time to worry about it now. His brother needed him.

Thor did not cry, but he clung to Loki in pain and grief.

However, he didn’t have much time for it. Eir was soon back.

“My King, My Prince… I’m sorry to intrude, but there is something…”

Loki sensed it too, and he disengaged from Thor.

“What is it?” Thor asked.

There was a loud noise and the three of them ran to the throne room, where the sound seemed to have originated. Standing there in front of the throne was a woman Loki had never seen before. She was fair skinned, slim, with dark hair and eyes. She looked slightly deranged.

“Who are you?” Thor asked.

“I am Hela, goddess of death, Odin’s first born and rightful heir to the throne of Asgard. Kneel before your Queen.”

“What?” Thor and Loki asked simultaneously.

Odin had another child? How could that be?

“ _I_ am Odin’s first born and King of Asgard,” Thor said in a booming voice, as usual letting emotion rule his actions. They really should not antagonize this person until they knew exactly who she was and what she wanted.

Hela regarded them curiously. “You truly do not know who I am? Have I been forgotten?”

“I’m sorry, but no. We have never heard of you,” Loki said in a mild voice.

She looked at the domed ceiling with its many frescos thoughtfully. “Ah, yes, I see. It seems that Odin has erased me from Asgard’s memory. I believe it is time for the people to learn the truth.” She made a sweeping gesture with her hand and tossed up a short sword that had appeared in her hand.

Loki could feel the magic coming from her and recognized it as the energy that had been detected by Lady Eir. Now that he knew who she was, he understood why it had seemed familiar – it was similar to _Odin_ ’s magical signature.

The sword hit the ceiling and cracked it, making the whole thing come tumbling down on their heads, so Loki quickly raised a shield to protect them. Once the debris had stopped falling, they looked up again to see very different murals underneath the ones Loki had seen his whole life.

In them, Hela could be clearly seen beside a much younger Odin, both charging into war against many of the Nine Realms, blood and death everywhere.

“Odin and I were unstoppable. I was his weapon in the conquest that built Asgard’s empire. One by one, the realms became ours,” she said, pointing to the depictions in the frescos above them. “But then, simply because my ambition outgrew his… he banished me, caged me, locked me away like an animal.” She turned to them once more, a hard glint in her eyes. “But now he is dead and I am finally free to rule Asgard and restore it to its former glory.”

Loki had no idea what to say to that, but Thor had no such problem. “I don’t care who you are or what you want. I am King of Asgard and there will be no more war.”

“You are Odin’s son?” Hela asked, unconcerned.

“Yes. I am Thor.”

“Nice to meet you, brother,” Hela said, “but I’m afraid I will have to take the throne now.”

“Perhaps we can come to an arrangement?” Loki interjected before Thor could escalate the situation beyond their control.

“And who are you?”

“I am Loki.”

“Prince of Asgard,” Thor added. “My brother.”

“Is that so? I have two brothers, how interesting. I am still Queen, though.”

“Look, whatever Odin did to you, we had nothing to do with it,” Loki said.

She cocked her head to the side, considering. “That is true. So I will not kill you. _If_ you accept me as your Queen.”

“Never!” Thor threw Mjolnir at Hela, but she easily caught it, surprising both Thor and Loki. That should not be possible. Thor tried to summon the hammer back, yet it remained in Hela’s hand. Mjolnir vibrated as Thor and Hela fought for control of it, until the hammer simply shattered in her hand.

 _Shit_.

“That’s not possible,” Thor murmured.

“Darling, you have no idea what’s possible.” She stalked forward and Loki created a thick magical barrier between her and them.

“Run,” he told Thor and Eir, who had been hiding near the door.

Thor looked at Lady Eir. “Find Heimdall. Tell him what happened. His first priority is to keep the people safe. Get them out of here by any means necessary.”

Eir nodded and disappeared just as Hela shattered the barrier. Loki summoned his daggers and prepared to fight.

“Begone, brothers! Asgard has entered a new era!”

Hela sent a wave of magic at them, knocking them down. Then they were engulfed in a different kind of magic, one that felt like a teleportation spell. Loki and Thor found themselves falling through some sort of tunnel.

This was really not how he’d planned this visit to go.


	2. Contest of champions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit choppy, I'm afraid, 'cause I tried to follow canon. Even so, there are plenty of canon elements that I'm not going into because it would deviate from the story I wanted to tell. The tone of this fic is also very different from the movie - while the movie was kinda funny, on second viewing I really cringed a lot at what they chose to laugh at. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy. And let me know what you think.

They landed painfully one on top of the other and the momentum rolled them down and apart. When he was finally still, Thor took stock of himself. He was a bit bruised, but nothing serious. He stood and brushed the dirt off himself.

“Loki? Loki, where are you?” he called out.

“Over here,” came the response, and Thor started moving towards the sound. Around him there was nothing but what looked like piles of debris. In the sky, there seemed to be open portals from which junk was dropping down. He had no idea where they were, but it didn’t seem like anywhere in the Nine Realms.

“Loki?”

His brother was climbing up a pile of junk to reach Thor. When he was close enough, Thor offered him a hand, which was accepted.

“Where are we?” Thor asked, once he had ascertained that Loki was unharmed.

“I have no idea. Outside the Nine, I think.”

For a while, neither of them said anything, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Who was that?” It was Thor who spoke first.

“Odin’s first born, apparently,” was Loki’s dry answer. “Guess he has always been a liar.”

A few years ago, Thor would have taken offense at that remark. Now, he had to agree with Loki’s statement. Odin _was_ a liar, and his lies had, once again, come to bite them in the ass. And now Odin was dead. Thor pushed that thought away. There would be time to grieve later. They had more pressing matters to worry about.

“I don’t understand how no one knew. Surely someone… someone would have said something. Or wondered where she had gone. Even if Odin had forbidden people to speak of her, there would have been whispers or rumors. There would have been something. How could everyone have just… forgotten a princess?” Thor could not think of that woman as his sister. She was nothing but a stranger – and one that threatened his home and all of the Nine Realms.

“Clearly that was Odin’s doing. He doesn’t like being questioned, after all,” Loki said.

The king’s word was law, but there were always people who weren’t happy about one thing or another. Yet now that Thor thought about it, he had rarely heard criticism of Odin’s ruling. Was that because people didn’t want to speak in front of the king or because they were afraid of more… dire consequences? Like being erased out of existence… “Is that… How is that possible?”

Loki shrugged. “With all the magic of Asgard at his fingertips, it must not have been too difficult.”

“But…” Thor could still not wrap his head around it. “Mother… she would not have allowed it, surely…”

“I don’t think she has the same mother as you. The timeline doesn’t fit. Frigga didn’t marry Odin until nearly the end of the conquering of the Realms, and Hela claimed to have helped Odin with that.”

It still didn’t make sense. “Then who is her mother?”

“I have no idea. Look, that’s not important now. We have to find a way to get back to Asgard. Or Midgard.”

“Yes, you’re right.” He buried all his confusion deep down and focused on the here and now. First things first. It would do them no good to speculate if they couldn’t do anything about it. Looking around once more, Thor tried to figure out in which direction they should go.

Before he could decide, however, a transport arrived and several people in weird masks jumped out of it. He would have been glad to see a working ship were it not for the fact that the people had weapons pointed at them and did not seem the least bit friendly.

“We wish you no harm,” Loki said, positioning himself slightly in front of Thor. Thor was a little annoyed that Loki thought he needed protection, but he let it go. “We are here by accident and will leave as soon as possible.”

“No one leaves Sakaar,” one of the creatures, who appeared to be the leader, said. It was humanoid, but that was about all they could say with the mask on. “Are you fighters… or are you food?”

“As I said, we are just passing,” Loki repeated.

The man – being – tilted its head. “It’s food.”

Thor and Loki exchanged a look. That did not bode well.

“Perhaps we could speak to someone in charge…?” Loki continued, still using a polite tone, which was utterly lost on the group surrounding them.

The creature that spoke gestured to its companions and they all attacked. Thor ducked the spear thrust in his direction and punched the one wielding it. These guys were strong, but they were not particularly good fighters, so it took no time at all for Thor and Loki to have them unconscious on the ground. Despite the rather dire situation, Thor couldn’t help grin at Loki. It felt like an eternity since they had fought side by side like this, and Thor had sorely missed it.

“That could have gone better,” Loki said with a sigh. He nudged one of the aliens with his foot. “We should find someone who can actually tell us something useful.”

Before Thor could respond, another ship landed near them and a woman stepped out. “Well,” she said. “That was impressive. I think you guys will do nicely.” She tossed a bottle she was drinking on the ground and snapped her hands together.

“Look, we just–”

The woman activated something on her ship and fired at them. Thor jumped one way and Loki the other, but it did no good. They were both covered by some kind of energy net. He felt his whole body seize up and he dropped to the floor, twitching and shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the same had happened to Loki. Then he got hit with something else, something much stronger, and everything went black.

*****

Loki woke in a strange room, lying on a huge bed. The room was spacious and decorated with various odd knickknacks. There was a huge window next to the bed. The view was not what one would call pleasant, however. There were a few buildings in this place, but mostly there were just misshapen little huts here and there. It was colorful, but not in any sort of orderly way. In fact, the whole place seemed to have been put together hastily, with no thought to aesthetics. It was messy and strange, and it made Loki miss his nice comfortable home in the Tower all the more.

“Well, aren’t you just gorgeous?”

Loki turned from his survey of the world outside to see a man standing at the entrance with a smile on his face. There was something about him that made the hairs stand up at the back on Loki’s neck. This was not a man to be trifled with.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Look at you! So… hmmm yum! Oh, the things I could to do you…” His smile turned lecherous but Loki kept his own expression neutral.

Years ago, he might have been flattered by the man’s obvious interest, as it was not often that people noticed him like that. Now, however, it just made him miss Tony, whose lecherous smiles were arousing and not disquieting. Tony, who actually cared about him as a person, and was probably worried about Loki having been gone for so long. How long had it been, anyway? He really wanted to go home.

It would not do to piss the man off just yet, though. Loki needed to find Thor and they needed to find a way off this planet. Perhaps he could use the man’s infatuation to their advantage.

“I am Loki,” he finally said. “With whom do I have the pleasure to converse?”

“Oh, such formality. I like it. I am the Grandmaster, and this is my humble planet.” He opened his arms in a grand gesture as if encompassing everything, grin still firmly in place.

“How charming,” Loki replied. Well, at least he’d managed to find the person in charge. “I do not believe I have ever been here before.”

“Oh, certainly not. I would surely remember a being as exquisite as you.” The words – and the man’s overall demeanor – were beginning to go from flattering to disturbing.

“I came here with… a companion.” It was best not to give too much information yet, so he did not specify his relationship with Thor. “A big blond man. Where might he be?” He tried to sound as casual as he could, though he was worried. He really didn’t like how things were going – and Thor was not the type to play it cool and wait to make a plan. His brother was more the type to start a brawl and end up needing to be rescued from prison – as countless previous experiences had proven.

“Oh, I’m sure he’s around. Don’t worry, he’s probably perfectly fine. A fine specimen, really, though not to my taste. He’ll do wonderfully in the arena against my champion, though.”

Arena? That did not sound good at all. Of course, Thor was an excellent fighter, but somehow Loki didn’t think it was going to be a fair fight.

“Hmm,” was all he said, though. “Champion?”

“Oh, yes. A most wondrous creature that came into my… acquaintance.” He came closer, invading Loki’s space. “It will be a splendid fight. And you will be my guest of honor!” He clapped his hands together in glee like a child.

Loki forced himself to smile. “That sounds wonderful.”

“Excellent! I will have something sent for you to wear.”

“Oh, there’s no need. I’m quite well as I am.”

“No, no. Those… clothes” he wrinkled his nose “will simply not do.” There was an edge to his voice that told Loki it would be better to play along.

“If you insist.”

The Grandmaster clapped his hands again. “Very good. Oh, it’s going to be marvelous.”

“Perhaps I could speak to Thor before the fight? To wish him good luck?” Again Loki used his mildest voice, bland smile still in place.

“Well, I suppose if you must.” The Grandmaster gave him a shrewd look, then turned around. “I shall have someone come by to escort you.” He paused at the door and glanced back. “I hope you will enjoy my hospitality. It is not something that is often given to those to come here.” The threat was quite clear.

Loki bowed. “Of course. I thank you most kindly.”

What the hell had they gotten themselves into?

*****

Thor woke strapped to some kind of chair. The bonds were strong enough that he could not break free.

“Loki? Loki, where are you?”

There was no response. As far as Thor could see, he was alone in the room. _Damn it_.

“I demand to be released!” he yelled, renewing his struggles to free himself.

The chair began to move forward and shapes appeared along the way. A female voice spoke from nowhere. “Fear not, for you are found. You are home, and there is no going back. No one leaves this place. But what is this place? The answer in Sakaar.” An image of space appeared in front of Thor, who continued to tug at the bonds. “Surrounded by cosmic gateways, Sakaar lives on the edge of the known and unknown. It is the collection point for all lost and unloved things. Like you. But here on Sakaar, you are significant. You are valuable. Here, you are loved.” _What the hell?_ Thor thought. _What insanity is this?_ “And no one loves you more than the Grandmaster. He is the original. The first lost, and the first found. The creator of Sakaar and the father of the Contest of Champions.” New images of an arena and people fighting were shown. “Where once you were nothing, now you are something. You are the property of the Grandmaster.” Property? Thor was no one’s property! Whoever this Grandmaster was, he was going to learn what happened to those who challenged Thor. “You will now meet the Grandmaster.”

Nothing that was said was in any way reassuring, though at least Thor now knew a little bit more about whatever this place was. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem nice at all. Like he didn’t have enough problems at home to be dealing with…

The weird trip in the chair ended in front of a group of people. Standing in the center was the man who had to be this Grandmaster. He was humanoid and was wearing golden robes with blue accents that matched his fingernails and a patch of paint on his chin. On one side of him was a stern looking woman and on the other stood the woman who had ambushed Thor and Loki.

The Grandmaster smiled and looked at woman. “I love when you come to visit, 142, you bring me the best stuff.” Then he turned to the other woman, the older-looking one. “Scrapper 142 is the best. She brought me my champion.” Back to the first one. “What have you brought me today?”

“A contender,” the woman – Scrapper 142, what kind of name was that? – replied.

“What? I’m not a contender. I am a king–”

Scrapper 142 activated a device in her hand and Thor’s body seized from an intense electrical shock. There was something attached to his neck, and it was zapping the hell out of him. Damn it. This Grandmaster was definitely on Thor’s shit list now. How dare he treat Thor this way?

“Oh, a king. Don’t get one of those every day,” the Grandmaster said. He cocked his head to the side, staring at Thor like he was a simple curiosity.

Thor glared, trying to infuse all the might of Asgard into it. “Who are you? And where is my brother?”

“A king _and_ a king’s brother? My my, did I luck out this time.” There was something very unsettling in the man’s smile, and Thor was beginning to get a bad feeling about this. Like showing this creep his place wouldn’t be as easy as Thor hoped.

“Where I am? How dare you imprison me?”

The man remained utterly unmoved in the face of Thor’s anger. “You will do very nicely in the arena against my champion.” He turned to the woman. “Thank you, my dear.”

“And my money?”

“Topaz, pay the woman.”

The Scrapper got her money and passed by Thor without a backward glance.

“What arena? What are you talking about?” Nothing about this place made any sense. And where was Loki? Was he going to be in this arena as well?

“Contest of Champions. People come from far and wide to unwillingly participate in it. Whoever beats the champion gets to leave. You’ll find out soon enough.” He made a gesture and someone came around and started rolling Thor’s chair away. Thor yelled in protest and was completely ignored. It was humiliating.

He ended up dumped in some kind of weird circular cell. It worried him that Loki wasn’t here. Where could he be? Why hadn’t they been imprisoned together? Thor tried breaking down the door, but it didn’t budge an inch.

“Take it easy, mate,” another prisoner said. It was being that seemed to be made of rocks. Thor thought he might have heard of this species, but couldn’t remember much more than that.

“Who are you?”

“Name’s Korg, I’m a Kronan.”

The name didn’t tell him much, though it hardly mattered. He wasn’t here to make friends. “How long have you been here?”

“Don’t know. A while, I guess.”

“Do you know anything about this champion?” If defeating this guy was the way out of this place, then that was exactly what Thor was going to do, and a little more information would be helpful.

“Yep. Anyone who fights him perishes.”

Great. What had they gotten themselves into?

He couldn’t get much else out of the prisoners. They were all from different places, and had come from those portals all over the planet. After a while, they were all led to another area where they were told to choose the weapons for their fight.

“Thor!”

Thor turned and saw Loki on the other side of the barrier that separated the prisoners from the rest of the room.

“Loki! Where have you been? What’s going on?” He seemed unharmed, Thor was glad to see, though he was wearing very odd clothes.

Loki sighed. “The man who runs this place seems to have taken a liking to me.”

“The Grandmaster?”

“Oh, you’ve met him?”

“Yeah. He’s a lunatic.” How dare that creeper set his eyes on his little brother? One more reason for Thor to kick his ass.

“No doubt. But a dangerous lunatic. I’m going to see if I can find a way for us to get out of here. I’m afraid you’re going to have to fight his champion, though.”

“I know.” Thor tried for a reassuring smile. “Worry not, brother. Whoever he is, I can beat him.”

“Time! Bring them in for processing.” A guard appeared and waved the prisoners through another door.

“Be careful!” Loki yelled as Thor was escorted away.

*****

The clothes he’d been given were not as terrible as Loki had expected. It wasn’t something one would wear for battle, but it least it was neither hideous nor too revealing. Perhaps he had gotten used to Earth’s fashion, which was both practical and stylish. No matter. Loki had far more important things to worry about, such as the fight that was about to start.

The Grandmaster had talked a great deal about this champion of his, and how he had not lost a single combat in quite a while, and Loki had begun to get a bit nervous. Thor was good, but he was not invincible – and he could be rather overconfident at times (most times, really). This was a creature from outside the Nine, and they had no idea what his powers and abilities might be. He had tried to impart caution on his brother on their short conversation earlier, but Thor had never been good at heeding advice. It was true that he had become more amenable to those since taking the throne, yet Loki could not relax. Not until he knew Thor was safe.

Unfortunately, winning this fight was only one problem. They still had to figure out how to get out of this place. Loki had tried to ask the Grandmaster about how people came and went from Sakaar, but the answers he’d gotten had not been particularly helpful. Apparently there were portals all over the planet that led to many different worlds. However, no one seemed to have bothered to study where each one went, so even if they could get in one of those portals, there was no guarantee they would end up anywhere useful – and Loki couldn’t help worry that they’d end up somewhere he _definitely_ didn’t want to be, like near Thanos.

Thor was shoved into the arena and looked up at Loki. Someone had cut his hair. Oh, Thor must have been pretty pissed at that. He’d always been very proud of his hair.

The Grandmaster chose that moment to lean into Loki’s side. “I do hope your friend will provide suitable entertainment for my champion.”

“I’m sure he will. Thor is an excellent fighter.” He took care not to sound too confident, though. Loki still hadn’t quite figured out what the Grandmaster’s game was – or what kind of powers he had.

“Well, I guess we’ll see.” He stood and gestured to someone down in the arena.

There was a massive roar before the doors opposite Thor burst open and the crowd started chanting, though Loki could not understand what they were saying.

The sound of the champion did nothing to assuage Loki’s fears, but then he got to actually see the creature, and it was all he could do not to slump over in relief. The Hulk. Bruce Banner. Tony’s long lost friend. How had he ended up here? Had he come through one of the portals? If so, that meant there was one that went to Midgard. If they could find it, that could be their ticket home.

His relief was short lived, however, as the Hulk charged and began fighting Thor as if they did not know each other. It made no sense. Why would the Hulk attack Thor?

Loki remembered vividly being smashed into the floor of the Tower’s penthouse by the green behemoth. It had not been pleasant in the least, though at least it had served to break the Mind Stone’s connection to his mind, thus freeing him from Thanos’s control. He also remembered Tony telling him that the Hulk had single-handedly destroyed several of the Chitauri’s leviathans during the invasion, so he did not like Thor’s odds against the giant if he was truly intent on fighting.

It looked like Thor was trying to talk to the Hulk, though Loki was too far away to hear the words. It did not, unfortunately, seem as if the Hulk was in a mood to listen. Perhaps Banner was angry with Thor over the Ultron incident.

Then the fight began in earnest and Loki felt his heart lodged in his throat as he witnessed the full might of the Hulk.

 _Shit_.

*****

Thor was shoved into the arena none too gently, still feeling the lingering pain from the device on his neck when he’d tried to fight against having his hair cut. How dare those bastards touch his hair?

He could see Loki up in the balcony next to the Grandmaster, trying to squirm away from the man who seemed intent on invading his space. Thor had to fight the urge to jump up there and wrench the man from his brother. Loki could take care of himself, and had, in fact, implied that it would be to their advantage to play along with the Grandmaster for now. At least until they could figure out a way to get off this planet and go back to Asgard.

He was distracted from thoughts of escape by the roaring of the crowd and Thor braced himself to face whoever this Champion was supposed to be. The doors on the other side of the arena opened and a loud growl filled the place, quieting the public. Then a huge figure came running out holding a shield and sword.

Thor couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. “Yes!” He said, louder than he had intended. The crowd started cheering ‘Hulk! Hulk! Hulk!’ but Thor was no longer worried (not that he had been before, of course. Whoever this champion had turned out to be, Thor could have handled him). Still, it was better to have another friendly face in this place.

“Banner!” he yelled. “It’s good to see you, my friend.”

But the Hulk didn’t acknowledge him, charging in Thor’s direction instead.

“Hey, Banner, what–”

Thor didn’t have time to finish the question, too busy dodging the sword swung at him.

It was easy to forget how fast the Hulk was, given his size. Thor found himself tossed through the air when the shield connected to his face.

“Damn it, Banner! It’s me, Thor,” he said, evading another attack. “Don’t you remember me? We fought the Chitauri together, remember? And Ultron.”

“Hulk smash!” was all he said in response, and continued to come at Thor.

Cornered, Thor had no choice but to fight back. While the Avengers had been chasing the scepter, he and Banner had, occasionally, trained together. It had not been often, because Banner had always been reluctant to let out his berserker self, and they did not fight _against_ each other, but teamed up against Tony’s practice machines. Thor had only ever gone up against the Hulk the first time they’d met, in SHIELD’s flying fortress during the invasion, and he could not truly say he had won that fight.

In truth, he would have preferred not to test whether he could win this one. Unfortunately, Banner either did not recognize him or did not care – he kept coming, and Thor was beginning to worry. He could not spare the attention to see what Loki thought of the situation, but he dearly wished he had his brother beside him now. With their combined strength (and Loki’s magic), it would have been much easier to subdue the Hulk.

The crowd was clearly rooting for the Hulk, who seemed to be enjoying the encouragement, and they booed whenever Thor managed to slip away without getting smashed.

“Banner, come on!” He tried again. “I thought we were friends.”

The Hulk harrumphed at that. He had dropped his sword and shield in favor of using his fists, and one of them came, once again, flying at Thor’s head.

“We’re trying to get back to Midgard. Surely you want that too!” That finally got the Hulk to pause, and he cocked his head to the side. “Friend Tony is worried about you,” Thor continued. “I’m sure he would be quite happy to have you back on Midgard.” Banner had always been closest to Tony, so Thor hoped the mention of his friend would get through to him.

“Hulk good here,” he said at last, and charged again.

This time Thor wasn’t able to evade the blow, and went skidding across the arena to collide against the wall. The crowd started chanting Hulk’s name again.

“Damn, that hurt,” he muttered. What he wouldn’t give for his hammer now. He still couldn’t believe that Mjolnir had been destroyed. It had been an extension of himself for so long, he felt a little lost without it now. Damn Hela.

He got to his feet quickly and approached slowly. “Hey, Big Guy, the sun’s getting real low,” he said, remembering Lady Natasha’s trick to bring Banner back.

It was clearly the wrong thing to say. Instead of calming the Hulk down, it made him even angrier. Hulk roared again, the sound sending shivers of fear down Thor’s spine. The giant became savage, grabbing Thor’s foot and smashing him into the ground like he’d done to Loki during the invasion in New York, and it was all Thor could do to hold on to consciousness.

Then the Hulk released him and stepped back, and Thor slowly raised his head to see the Hulk shaking his. Grunting in pain, Thor got to his feet, swaying a bit until he felt a bit steadier.

“Banner,” he called again. “Banner, we don’t have to fight. We’re friends. I can take you back home to Midgard. You don’t belong in this place. Please.”

For a while they were silent, just staring at each other. _Come on, come on, come on_ , Thor thought. Hulk came a little closer.

“Home?”

“Yes. Home.”

Then the Grandmaster’s voice sounded through the speakers. “Guys? This is supposed to be a fight. I want a fight. Who wants a fight?”

The crowd immediately took up the chant. “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Hulk turned back to Thor and gave him a significant look. Then he charged once more and got Thor on the ground. “Stay down,” the giant murmured. He raised his fists above his head and brought them down.

The crowd went wild.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate ridiculously overpowered Thor. He may be strong, but there’s no way in hell he’s stronger than the Hulk. Yes, he only won because of his lightening trick, but I don’t want to use that just yet – no Odin vision to coach him into it in this ‘verse, after all.
> 
> Also, I know I skipped Thor’s first talk with Valkyrie here. That will come later. I just didn’t think it fit right now. We’ll be deviating from canon pretty heavily from now on.


	3. Escape from Sakaar

Thor opened his eyes and found himself lying in a bed in a large room. His head was aching a little from the blows he’d taken, but he was all right otherwise. Obviously the Hulk had used the minimal amount of strength to end the fight without really hurting Thor.

A splashing noise drew his attention and he sat up, searching for the source. He found the Hulk soaking in a huge bathtub, looking perfectly relaxed.

“Banner?”

“No Banner. Only Hulk.”

“Right. How long have you been like this?” Thor would admit that he had never understood the relationship between Banner and Hulk: if they were two people, only one very strange one, or whatever it was. It had never seemed important. He had never been that close to either one, preferring the company of Steve and Lady Natasha – the ones who had turned out to be the least trustworthy of the team. Thor didn’t know what that said about him, but it probably wasn’t anything good.

“Hulk always Hulk,” was the answer, which didn’t help Thor in the least. Still, Hulk’s mental situation was the least of his problems right now.

“How did you get here?”

“Quinjet.”

Now _that_ was helpful. It meant they might have a way out of this crazy place. “And where is the Quinjet now?”

Hulk pointed out the window and Thor went to take a look. Sure enough, he could see the Quinjet in the midst of a massive alien junkyard. This whole place was a junkyard, it seemed.

“Great. Let’s go.” Easier than expected. Perhaps their luck was changing.

Hulk unhurriedly got out of the tub and dried himself off on a big towel as Thor politely looked away. He put on some pants and sat on the bed Thor had vacated. “Broken.”

“What?”

“Quinjet is broken. Can’t fly anymore.”

Seemed Thor had been a bit overtly optimistic. “Well, can’t you fix it?” The look Hulk gave him was one that loudly proclaimed Thor was an idiot. “I mean, can’t you go back to being Banner and let _him_ fix it?”

“Can’t fix it. Broken.”

Thor sighed. “Fine. Then we’ll just have to find another way to get off this planet. Any ideas?” Why couldn’t anything be easy?

Hulk shook his head, a mixture of melancholy and resignation. “Can’t leave. Trapped. No more home. Just Sakaar.”

“If we work together, we can figure something out. Come on, just… work with me here,” Thor pleaded. “I have to get back to _my_ home, to Asgard. There’s this woman who claims she’s my sister. She wants to take the throne and… wage war on the Nine Realms, I think. I have to stop her. I have to save my people. I need your help. Please.” He had never liked pleading; a warrior should always stand strong on his own feet, without the need for anyone else. In the last few months, however, he had learned how untrue that was – and how everyone, even the strongest warrior, could need assistance from time to time. This was certainly one of those times. Asgard’s safety was more important than Thor’s pride.

Thor had no idea how much time had passed since they’d arrived in Sakaar. He had no idea what Hela might be doing, but it was probably nothing good. The people would never accept her on the throne, not when they didn’t know who she was (because Odin had made them forget her), and Thor didn’t think it likely that she would take kindly to that. The people were in danger, and Thor had to go back there and protect them. He had to stop Hela. He was king now, it was his responsibility. His people were counting on him.

“So not Hulk’s home. Thor’s home. Thor doesn’t care about Hulk.”

That made Thor wince just a bit. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, he just had other priorities at the moment. Still, he couldn’t exactly fault the other for thinking it. Thor had not shown much care for some of his shield brothers – notably Banner and Tony. “No, that’s not true. I _will_ take you home, I swear it. I just need to go to Asgard first. If we get to Asgard, you can use the Bifrost to go to Midgard.”

“Thor not Hulk’s friend. No one is Hulk’s friend.” He actually looked a little sad, which made Thor feel even worse. It was true that he hadn’t been much of a friend to Banner (or Hulk), but he was trying to be a better person, a less selfish person.

“Tony is your friend. He misses you.” _That_ Hulk would not be able to dispute.

Hulk huffed and glared at him. “Thor hurt Tony.”

Thor winced again. “Yes, I did. I was wrong to attack him and I’ve apologized for that. We’re good now, Tony and I.” Thor was still not entirely happy about the man… cavorting… with his brother, but he could not deny that Loki was much happier with Tony by his side. It was hard to let go of some long held beliefs, though he was doing his best. It had not been easy to realize how prejudiced Asgard could be about so many things. Thor had, in fact, thought himself superior to the humans (and the people from the other realms) for a long time, even after being confronted by his own failures. It had taken time to see that some of those failures had not been necessarily personal, but the symptoms of a wider problem with his upbringing and its problematic views.

Hulk didn’t look convinced. He picked up a ball on the bedside table and started throwing it at the wall, catching it as it bounced back to him. Thor waited a bit, but he had never been the most patient of people and time was of the essence here.

“If you want to stay here and sulk, fine. I’m going to go back to Asgard before Hela decides to kill everyone.” When Hulk didn’t say anything, Thor sighed and walked to the door. He still needed to find Loki before he could leave.

“Don’t,” Hulk called out just as Thor was about to cross the doorway.

“I have to.” Thor didn’t pause – and got another dose of shock from the obedience device on his neck for his trouble. He fell on the floor grunting in pain.

“Hulk said don’t.”

“You could have told me why,” Thor gritted out, waiting for the pain to subside.

“Thor!” Loki came running up the corridor to kneel over Thor. Clearly he had no trouble going over whatever barrier had just prevented Thor from leaving. “Are you all right?”

“Fine. Just got zapped by this stupid thing again.” He indicated the small ring on his neck as he stood with Loki’s help. “What in the Norns are you wearing?” he said, trying to hide his embarrassement.

Loki made a face. “Never mind that.”

“What’s _he_ doing here? Hulk smash puny god!”

 _Oh, shit_. Thor had forgotten that Hulk didn’t know about Loki.

*****

Loki backed up and hid behind Thor. Not because he was scared, of course, but because it would be easier to convey what they needed to if he remained in one piece – not that the Hulk had shown much reluctance to hit Thor, though. Loki had nearly had a heart attack at the end of the fight, when it looked like the Hulk had _really_ smashed Thor. It had been a harrowing few seconds until he realized that Thor was still breathing. Then Hulk had picked Thor up and walked out of the arena with him to the applause of the crowd.

It had taken Loki some time to extricate himself from a cheerful (and handsy) Grandmaster and find out where Thor had been taken, leaving one of his clones behind in case the Grandmaster was having him watched. Perhaps he should have planned his approach a little better to avoid being smashed himself.

“Loki is on our side now,” Thor said. “He’s an Avenger.”

“Actually, we are called Earth’s Defense Squad. DS for short,” Loki added.

Hulk frowned. “What happened to Avengers?”

“Well,” Loki began “Rogers and Romanoff decided to allow the witch to join the team, so Tony left.”

“Hulk smash witch!” the giant roared.

“Yes, of course. You won’t need to. She’s been depowered and is now in prison.”

“Depowered?”

“Loki did it,” Thor said.

“I hate mind control,” Loki continued. “Anyway, after that Rogers and Romanoff made a complete mess of things – by being criminals – and ended up in prison too. In the meantime, Tony and I made an alliance against a common enemy and then, when the Avengers imploded, I became part of the team that later came to be named DS.” Loki turned to Thor. “Didn’t you tell him anything?”

“I… I was going to.” In truth, it had probably slipped his mind. Loki knew his brother well enough to read that sheepish expression.

Hulk looked from one to the other, as if he wasn’t sure he should believe them. “Where is Tony?”

“He’s back on Earth, he’s safe.” At least, Loki hoped so. It would be just his luck if Tony got into trouble when Loki wasn’t there to help him. “We want to go back there, and we could really use your help. Tony has been worried about you, you know. He tried to find you and… nothing. I’m sure he’d be really happy to see you again.”

“Hulk doesn’t know how to leave. Quinjet broken,” he said, but at least it seemed like he was listening. “Hulk likes it here. There’s no witch and no Ross.”

“The witch is gone, and Ross can’t do anything to you. You know Tony wouldn’t let him.”

“Tony isn’t mad? Banner left without saying goodbye. Banner is coward. Always running,” Hulk huffed.

Loki shook his head. “Like I said, I’m sure Tony would be glad to have you back.” He really would. He was nice like that. And, damn it, Loki missed him. Getting out of this shithole would be a lot easier with Tony’s ingenuity on their side.

It took some convincing, but the Hulk finally agreed to go back to being Banner. Loki had no idea what to say about this apparent double personality, so he ignored it. As long as Banner/Hulk helped them, it didn’t matter what form he wore.

They had to rehash the whole story over again once Banner had gotten his bearings. Apparently he’d been the Hulk since leaving Midgard, and was a bit disorientated about what had happened. He eyed Loki suspiciously as they re-explained everything, but he did not seem particularly surprised about the Avengers’ fate.

“I knew that team was a disaster waiting to happen from the very beginning,” he said with a shrug when Loki pointed that out. “And the mess with Ultron only made that clearer.”

“I think you’ll like the new team better, then.” Anyone with a brain would – and did. The world was certainly much happier now with all the new protocols in place.

“Friends, we really should find a way off this planet,” Thor said. “We have to stop Hela.”

“I’m still not clear on who this Hela person is,” Banner said.

“Neither are we,” Loki replied. “We had no knowledge of her existence until… I don’t know, yesterday? It seems that Odin imprisoned her and then made everyone forget about her completely.”

Banner shook his head. “No offense, but your dad is… a bit of a jerk.”

“No offense taken. We are well aware of that. Unfortunately, this is yet one more mess of his we will have to clean up.” Loki sighed. “I might not like Asgard all that much, but that doesn’t mean I want it destroyed.”

“But if she’s as powerful as you say, how are you planning on fighting her?”

Loki sighed again. “Well, I was hoping perhaps we could reason with her.”

“Reason? Brother, I don’t think she can be reasoned with.” Thor said.

“Oh? Like you thought I couldn’t be reasoned with after the invasion?”

Thor had the good grace to appear contrite at that reminder. “It was different.”

Yes, it probably was. He didn’t think Hela had been, or was being, mind controlled. Still, they had no idea what she was like, and it would be foolish to go straight to a confrontation if there could be a more peaceful solution available. “We won’t know unless we try. It is better to make an ally than an enemy. It may be that, with Odin dead, she might be more amenable to an arrangement.”

Thor still didn’t look convinced, but he changed the subject. “We cannot do anything while we remain here, though.” He looked at Banner. “Are you sure you can’t fix the Quinjet?”

“I’m not Tony. Jets are not my thing. Besides, even if we have a ship, how are we supposed to know which portal to go through? There are dozens here.” He pointed at the window, where they could see a few of them spewing junk onto the surface of the planet. “Did you happen to notice which one you guys arrived from? Because I have no idea where _I_ came from.”

Loki wanted to smack himself upside the head for his stupidity. He _hadn’t_ paid attention to that, mind still reeling from the revelation about Hela.

“That woman. Scrapper something,” Thor said. “The one that caught us. She was in the room with the Grandmaster when I met him. It sounded like she brings him contenders often. She might know which portal we came from. Or at least tells us where she found us, and we can go from there.” Thor grimaced. “Though I don’t think she’d _want_ to help us. And she has the control to this thing.” He pointed to the device in his neck.

“Right. Let’s get this thing off,” Loki said. “Then we can find the woman.”

The technology of the device was unfamiliar, but it was clearly not magic-proof. It only took a simple spell to remove it. Loki stored it in his pocket dimension, in case they needed it later. Besides, Tony would probably be interested in studying a juicy bit of alien tech. He might as well take his lover a souvenir for all this trouble.

“Ah… I think I have a better idea,” Banner said.

“What?”

“I think… I think the Other Guy knows this woman you’re talking about. They’re… sort of friends? Maybe I… the Hulk, I mean… could get her to come here so we can talk to her.”

“You want to go back to being the Hulk?” Loki asked.

“Well, I don’t _want_ to, but I do want to get out of here and go home. So if being Hulk is what it takes, I’ll do it.”

“And does Hulk want to get out of here too? Or are we going to have to go through this whole thing again?”

“No, he wants to go too.” Banner frowned, his gaze becoming unfocused, as if he was talking to his greener self. Interesting. “Yes, he wants to go home too, now that Maximoff and Natasha are no longer a concern.”

“Natasha? Why?” Thor asked. “I thought you two were friends.”

“I thought so too. Right until she tossed me down a whole in the ground to summon the Hulk against my express wishes.” He shook his head. “Obviously I was an idiot to ever trust her.”

Loki quietly agreed, but figured it was best to move this along now. “So, where do you think you can find this… what’s her name?”

Banner got the same faraway look for a moment, then straightened. “Actually, she usually comes by after a fight. You guys better go hide.”

Loki made both himself and Thor invisible and they settled into a corner of the room. Banner transformed back into the Hulk and settled into the bed, bouncing a ball against the wall.

It was good timing, because only a few minutes later the woman appeared.

*****

“Angry girl!” Hulk greeted the woman with a smile when she entered the room.

“Hey, Big Guy!” Scrapper Some Number gave the Hulk a hug, returning the smile. It was a slightly bizarre sight, Thor thought. Maybe this meant the woman would be more willing to help them. “That was a hell of a fight. That guy lasted longer than usual.” From his hiding place, Thor pursed his lips. He hadn’t been _trying_ to win. Banner was an ally, not an enemy. If he had really tried, he could have been victorious. Probably. Maybe.

“Hulk win.”

“You sure did. Didn’t doubt it for a moment.” She slapped his arm playfully.

Hulk grinned, then stepped back, his expression becoming serious. “Hulk needs Angry Girl’s help.”

She frowned. “Help? What kind of help?”

“Hulk wants to go home.”

“Home? What do you mean?”

“This is not Hulk’s home. Hulk misses home. Wants to go back.”

Her face closed off and she crossed her arms. “No one leaves Sakaar.”

“Hulk can, if Angry Girl helps.”

“How?”

Hulk looked to where Thor and Loki were standing and gestured for them to come forward. Loki dropped the illusion and they faced the woman.

“You!” she said, not looking very pleased. In fact, she seemed decidedly unfriendly. Well, she was the one who had attacked them first and sold Thor to that nutcase the Grandmaster. If anyone should be less than friendly, it should be _them_.

“Thor is friend.” Hulk hesitated, then added, “Loki too. They can take Hulk home.”

“All we need to know is which portal we came from,” Loki told her.

“And why should I tell you anything?”

“Hulk ask.”

If they thought the big guy would have any sway with her, they were clearly mistaken. “No. You all can get wherever you want by yourselves.” She started to leave, but the Hulk threw an enormous skull at the wall near the door, stopping her in her tracks. With an angry frown, she stalked back to them, jabbing a finger in Thor’s chest. “I don’t care who you are or what you want. Leave me out of it.”

As she poked him, her sleeve came down a bit, and Thor could see a symbol drawn on her skin. It looked familiar, so he grabbed her arm and pushed the fabric back more to take a closer look.

“I know that mark. You’re a Valkyrie. You’re Asgardian!” he exclaimed, surprised. He’d thought the Valkyries were gone.

“So what?” she said, angrily snatching her arm back.

“We’re Asgardian too,” Thor said, indicating himself and Loki. Well, Loki wasn’t technically Asgardian, but there was no need to get into all that right now. “That’s where we want to go, back to Asgard. We can get you home too.”

“Home? I don’t have a home. And if I did, it sure as hell wouldn’t be Asgard,” she sneered.

For a moment, Thor could only stare. The Valkyries were supposed to be honorable warriors. Was she a deserter? “Wait. Just listen. The Valkyrie are legend, elite warriors of Asgard. You are sworn to defend the throne.”

“Fight for the Allfather? Not a chance,” she said with contempt.

“Odin is dead,” Loki interjected, drawing her attention to him. “I can certainly understand your dislike of him, but he’s gone. Thor is king now.”

The Valkyrie looked Thor up and down, seemingly unimpressed. He was starting to get a bit angry. “I don’t care who is king. I’m done with that place.”

“So you’ll let it burn?” Thor said, advancing on her. “Hela threatens the whole realm. We need to go back there. If you–”

“If Hela’s back, then Asgard is already lost,” she interrupted.

“I’m going to stop her.”

“Alone?” She scoffed.

“Of course not. I have Loki, Hulk and all the might of Asgard on my side.”

Valkyrie snorted. “Good luck with that. I’m not getting dragged into another one of Odin’s family squabbles.”

“So you know Hela?” Loki asked. “What can you tell us about her?”

“You mean you don’t know? Aren’t you supposed to be the King?” she asked Thor. “If you’re Odin’s son, than you’re Hela’s brother.” Everything in her tone of voice indicated her complete derision. At another time, Thor would have bristled at the insult to his family, but now he was aware that there were a lot of skeletons there, and she probably had good reason to despise them. 

Thor grimaced. “Apparently Odin made everyone forget about her. We had no idea she even existed. Any information you can give us would be helpful.” He hated having to rely on her for anything, given her general attitude. Unfortunately, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“Princess Hela was the apple of Odin’s eye. Bloodthirsty. Powerful. Ambitious. Merciless. She slaughtered everyone in her path. When it grew beyond Odin's control, she massacred everyone in the palace and tried to seize the throne. When she tried to escape her banishment, he sent the Valkyries in to fight her back. I only survived because…” she trailed off, eyes glazed and distant. “Look, I already faced her once back when I believed in the throne, and it cost me everything. _That_ ’s what’s wrong with Asgard. The throne, the secrets, the whole golden sham.”

“Believe me, we are no more happy with Odin’s lies and secrets than you are,” Loki said in a bitter tone. Thor couldn’t help wonder, once again, what Odin had been thinking with all these secrets.

“Whatever you might feel about Odin, the people of Asgard are your people too. You have a duty to help us,” Thor insisted.

“Listen closely, your majesty,” she spit out the words. “This is Sakaar, not Asgard. And I’m a Scrapper, not a Valkyrie.”

“We’re not asking you to fight with us. Clearly you are too cowardly for that,” Loki continued, tone slightly mocking. He seemed to be losing his patience as well. “Just tell us how to get off this damn planet, then you can go back to whatever it is that’s so important to you in this shithole, like enslaving people for the Grandmaster and drinking yourself into a stupor.” She reeked of alcohol.

“Watch your language,” Valkyrie hissed, drawing a knife out of somewhere.

“You’re the one who should watch your language. Thor is your King.”

Her expression twisted in anger and she lunged forward, but the Hulk caught her arm and dangled her up in the air. She tried to squirm free but had no leverage to do so.

“No fighting. Everyone friends.”

“Let me go!”

“Tell us what we need to know and we will,” Thor said.

“Fine!”

Hulk released her and she took a step backwards, reaching for something in her pocket, then frowning when nothing happened.

“If you’re looking for your little shocking device, it’s been removed and destroyed,” Loki said in his best disdainful tone.

“Angry Girl won’t help?” Valkyrie said nothing, glaring at them like she was considering murdering them all. Hulk sighed and shook his head. “Angry Girl running away and hiding. Like Banner. Angry Girl coward too.”

“I’m not a coward!”

“Then help us get to Asgard so we can save it from Hela,” Thor said again.

Valkyrie’s hands clenched into fists. There was anger in her eyes, but pain and grief too. She had lost a lot, Thor thought, and he felt sorry for her. He wished he knew what to say to get her to see past her loss, to help her, but words had never been his forte.

“I’m not a coward,” she repeated in a low voice, as if talking to herself. “I am… a Valkyrie. And I run from nothing and no one.” Her face took on a defiant expression and Thor couldn’t help smile a little. “Let’s go. If I’m going to die, it might as well be driving my sword through the heart of that murderous hag.”

“That’s the spirit!” Thor said with a grin.

“The portal to Asgard is that big one over there.” She pointed out the window to one of the biggest portals there were. It was a pretty long way off from where they were. “We’re going to need a ship.”

“You have one,” Thor said.

She shook her head. “My little ship would be torn to pieces by that thing. We need a much bigger one.”

“And where can we get a bigger ship?”

“The Grandmaster has several,” Loki said. “He showed me the docks. There are some big ships there. We can steal one.”

Thor nodded. “Good. Let’s go.”

“Wait,” Loki addressed Hulk. “It might be easier if you went back to being Banner. Less conspicuous that way.”

Hulk grumbled but nodded, and transformed once again. Valkyrie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

“Hmm… hi,” Banner said. Then he looked down at himself and the pants that were now in danger of falling off him. “I’m gonna need some clothes here, guys.”

Loki started taking off the ridiculous clothes he was wearing, revealing his own clothes underneath.

“Why are you wearing that anyway?” Thor asked.

“The Grandmaster… asked me to,” he said with distaste. “Here.” He finished undressing and handed the bundle over to Banner, who stared at the clothes in dismay.

“Really? This is… Ugh.”

“Unless you have something else lying around in your size?”

“Tony usually left some clothes in the Quinjet.”

“We don’t have time for that.”

“Hang on, is anyone going to explain what the hell just happened?” Valkyrie asked. “You’re a shapeshifter?”

“Ah, no, not really. It’s… a bit of a long story, actually. I’ll tell you later.”

“Yes, let’s go. We’re wasting time,” Thor urged.

Banner dressed hastily and they left, Valkyrie still casting dubious looks at Banner. Outside the palace, or whatever the building was called, the streets were incredibly crowded, and they had trouble walking without being separated.

They finally managed to get into Valkyrie’s ship, which was barely big enough for all of them. Just as they took flight, the Grandmaster’s face appeared on a huge hologram over the street.

“Sakaar, hear me. Attention please. I have some bad news. My beloved, exalted Champion has turned up missing. Take to the streets. Celebrate my champion. Find him. Bring him back to me. Whoever does it will be rewarded.”

“Well, that’s not good,” Banner said.

“How did he know you’re missing? We’ve barely been gone twenty minutes,” Thor grumbled.

“He must have the rooms monitored. By now, he probably knows I’m gone too,” Loki said. “I don’t think he’ll be happy about that either.”

Thor huffed. “We need a plan.”

It had been a very long time since Thor and Loki had this sort of adventure together, even though the stakes were much higher this time. Still, he had to admit he was enjoying it a little, at least now that they knew how to get home. Of course, then they’d have to deal with Hela, which was probably not going to be easy. Thor hadn’t forgotten how she’d destroyed Mjolnir with no apparent effort. For now, however, he grinned at his brother as they figured out how to draw the Grandmaster’s forces away so they could sneak into the docks and steal a ship.

“Are you sure you’ll be able to fly the ship on your own, Loki?” Thor asked. He and Valkyrie would be the distraction while Loki and Banner did the actual stealing.

“Of course. How hard can it be?” Loki replied with an indignant expression. “I can fly the Quinjet,” he added.

“Fine, let’s go, then.”

For once, things went more or less according to plan. Thor and Valkyrie did their part and got the Grandmaster’s guards chasing them out of the palace. Valkyrie’s ship was fast and had a lot of weapons, so it was easy enough to evade them. It didn’t take long for Loki and Banner to join them on their stolen ship. Just in time too, as a well-aimed blast crashed into Valkyrie’s ship and made it lurch sideways. Thor and Valkyrie barely managed to get out of it and jump over to the other ship. Unfortunately, that was when the citizens of Sakaar decided to try to collect their reward. Thor had no idea how they knew the Hulk was there, but maybe they just figured that whoever was running away from the guards was a good bet for an escaped champion.

“They’re firing at us,” Banner said, holding tight to the seat as Loki steered the ship out of the way of the energy blasts.

“We’ve got to shoot them back!” Thor said, looking for the right controls. “We can’t. There are no guns on this ship,” Valkyrie said with a glare at Loki.

“What?” “This is a leisure vessel,” she continued. “The Grandmaster uses it for his good times, orgies and stuff.”

“Oh, uck,” Banner said, taking his hands off the seat he was gripping and wiping them in disgust.

“Well, how was I supposed to know?” Loki muttered. “The others were too big. Banner agreed it was a good idea.”

“Now what?” Thor asked.

“Banner, take the helm,” Loki said.

“What? No. I can’t fly this thing.”

“It’s not that different from the Quinjet. Also, you’re supposed to be a genius. Can’t you figure it out?” Loki left the pilot’s chair, opened the hatch on the back of the ship and proceeded to fling green bursts of magic at their pursuers. “Little help here, Thor?” he yelled.

Thor cursed as he joined his brother by the door. “I can’t fly or use lightening. I don’t have Mjolnir anymore.”

“You don’t need Mjolnir, you fool. The hammer is just a conduit.”

A conduit? He could still wield lightening? Thor frowned and concentrated, reaching out a hand as if Mjolnir was in it as he let the energy flow through him. It was _there_! He could feel it! Grinning, Thor pointed at an approaching ship and ‘fired’. It wasn’t quite as controlled as when he used the hammer, but it worked anyway, and the ship went down in a shower of sparks. Beside him, Loki gave him a thumbs up and took out another ship with his magic.

Before they had the chance to celebrate too much, several more ships arrived and started firing. Banner wasn’t quick enough to evade all the shots and their ship got hit, making Thor tumble and lose his balance. He would have fallen off it if Loki hadn’t held on to him.

“We need more firepower.”

“On it.” Valkyrie ran past them and jumped out of the ship, landing on the one coming up below them and wrestling her way inside. Thor had to admit that was really impressive.

“Guys!” Banner shouted. “We’ve got more incoming.”

Thor and Loki turned back to the front of the ship and saw that they were about to be surrounded. “Damn.”

The biggest ship started to power up a shot, only to get trampled out of the way as another massive ship crashed into it and the ones near it, sending them all scattering out of control.

“What the…” Thor said. “Who is that?”

Loki shook his head.

“Thanks for getting us out,” came the communication from the other ship, and Thor frowned. He’d heard that voice before, hadn’t he?

“Hey, it’s the Kronan from the arena,” he exclaimed.

“Oh, yeah, Banner and I disabled the obedience chips and freed the slaves,” Loki said with a smug grin.

“Well done, brother! I didn’t even think of that.” He should have. Just because these weren’t his people didn’t mean they deserved to be trapped in this damned planet as the Grandmaster’s entertainment.

“We need everyone inside now,” Banner said and Thor shouted for Valkyrie, who fought her way back into their ship with a little help from Loki’s magic.

“Brace yourselves!”

The portal loomed above them, then they were through.


	4. Back in Asgard

They came out on the other side of the portal too fast for a controlled landing, and ended up crashing into the side of the northern mountains and sliding down. Loki hastily threw up a shield to minimize the impact, but they were still tossed around pretty badly inside the ship.

When they finally came to a stop, they were all a bit banged up. Loki had a cut on his forehead, Thor had knocked his head against the wall pretty hard and seemed a little disoriented, Valkyrie had wrenched her right arm out of its socket trying to hold on and Banner was slightly green and taking deep breaths, presumably to keep the Hulk from making an unexpected appearance in the enclosed space of the ship.

“Everyone okay?” Loki asked. He noticed a few sparks from the console and motioned for the others to get back. “We should get out of this ship.”

Once outside and a safe distance in case of an explosion, Loki helped Valkyrie set her arm while Thor got his bearings. 

“Is this Asgard?” Banner asked, seemingly back in full control. “I thought it’d be more… I don’t know… Grand.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “We’re in the mountains, not the city proper.”

“How far to the city then?”

“A few hours walk,” Thor said. “If I had Mjolnir I could get there a lot faster,” he grumbled.

“Some of us can teleport, remember?” Loki said irritably. Why couldn’t Thor ever remember that magic was a thing that could be used for all sorts of purposes? “We don’t have to go trekking through the woods.”

Banner looked at him. “Oh, that’s pretty useful. How do you do that? Is it like a localized wormhole?”

“No, it’s a different principle altogether,” Loki replied. It was the same thing Tony had asked the first time they’d discussed Loki’s teleportation magic, and the thought made him miss Tony all over again. “I can tell you about it later.”

“Right, sorry. Not the time.”

“We need some kind of plan,” Valkyrie said. “Hela is powerful, and if we go in half-cocked we’ll end up dead.”

Thor nodded, than added, “first we need to make sure the people are safe. Then we can deal with Hela.”

Loki was pleasantly surprised by Thor’s words. In the past, Thor would have acted recklessly, but now he was actually _thinking_ before doing things, and his priority was the people’s safety instead of the fight. He was turning out to be a pretty good king after all. Who would have thought?

Valkyrie shared what she knew about Hela’s usual style, but they couldn’t be sure how much they could rely on that. This time Hela was on her own, without Asgard’s army by her side (and it made Loki a little sick to think of how much bloodshed she’s caused with Odin’s blessing. He knew, of course, that the Nine Realms had been essentially conquered into being Asgard’s vassals, but he’d never really considered what that would have meant in practical terms.). Unfortunately, that might not be enough to stop her. She had destroyed most of the Valkyries all by herself, after all. It was clear that she was immensely powerful, with physical fighting skills as well as her magic. Loki couldn’t help think that might have been the reason Odin had decided to take him in after the war with Jotunheim – a way to control yet one more powerful sorcerer lest Loki turn against him. And instead of encouraging what could have been Loki’s destructive tendencies, Odin had kept him constantly down, desperate for approval and filled with self-doubt. A beaten-down tool, not a threat that could one day turn against him. It almost made Loki glad that the bastard was dead.

They decided to arrive at the outskirts of the palace and assess the situation, since they needed information in order to make any plans. Loki cast his invisibility spell over all of them and they crept around the empty courtyard leading up to the palace.

The fact that the place was deserted did not bode well for the people, Loki thought. The palace guards should have been around. Where was everyone? Hela couldn’t have killed them all, could she? There would be corpses if she had, right?

“I don’t like this,” Valkyrie whispered, echoing everyone’s thought.

They continued to make their way into the palace, and that was when they saw them: what was left of the guards. There were more than a dozen dead bodied strewn around, discarded like trash where they had fallen. It didn’t seem like there would be any reasoning with Hela, Loki thought. While he might not have liked most of the guards, they didn’t deserve this. 

The more they ventured inside, the more signs of Hela’s path of destruction they saw. There were scorch marks on the walls and floor from both magic and physical weapons.

“Shit,” Banner said. Loki could not see the man, but he imagined he looked a little green around the edges, and not in a Hulk way. It was a very gruesome sight.

“Where are the people? The servants and nobles?” They had only seen guards so far, which was, in a way, a good thing. Perhaps the rest of the palace had had time to escape while the guards did their duty – and died for it.

Thor had started to head for the throne room, but Loki tugged him back. Since they couldn’t see each other, they were all holding hands so they wouldn’t get separated.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Thor,” Loki said. The distant rumble of thunder was enough to tell him Thor was not happy, but this was not the time to lose his head. “The people first, remember?” He got a hand squeeze in answer, and they headed to the royal chambers. Loki’s room was thoroughly warded, so they’d be able to speak freely and decide what their next step should be.

They found more dead guards on the way, and a couple of servants who hadn’t been able to get away in time. At the hallway of Loki’s chambers (empty since he had permanently left), they heard a hustle of cloth and muffled sounds.

“Is there anyone there?” Thor asked quietly.

The air shimmered and a woman appeared beside Loki’s door, looking scared and disheveled. “Sylvi?” Loki dropped his own spell and allowed their party to be seen.

“Prince Loki!” She exclaimed, and threw herself in his arms with a sob.

It was a little awkward. Loki hadn’t seen Sylvi in decades, but she had once been a student – a very bright one at that. “It’s all right,” he told her, though of course it wasn’t. Not even close. “Let’s go inside and we can talk.”

Loki’s room was as well preserved as the day he had left it. He sat Sylvi down in the armchair near the fireplace, the others hovering behind him, and waited until she had calmed a little.

“Tell us what happened,” Thor said.

“My King…” she began, clearly trying to compose herself. “The woman, the one who calls herself queen–”

“Hela.”

“Hela. She… She attacked the guards when they refused to kneel before her.”

“What happened to the rest of the people?”

“Lady Eir and the others used magic to get them away while Hela was fighting. I was told to stay and await your return, your Majesty.” She turned to Loki with a hopeful expression. “Lady Eir said you were alive, Prince Loki, and I was to assist you in whatever I could.”

Loki nodded and gave her a strained smile. It was nice to know at least some people in Asgard still trusted him.

“What of Heimdall?” Thor asked.

Sylvi shook her head. “I don’t know. Hingl was supposed to warn him. I know not whether she succeeded. I did not see him.” She looked down at her hands twisting restlessly in her lap. “I tried to help the guards once Hela was gone, but… the ones who were still alive… their injuries were too severe.”

“I’m sure you did your best, Sylvi,” Loki said, taking her hands in his to still their nervous twitch. “Where did Hela go?”

“I don’t know. I think she went down to the vaults at some point, but then… I think she left the palace. I didn’t see her again.”

“The vaults?” Thor asked, alarmed. That was indeed very bad news. There were a lot of dangerous artifacts down there that Hela could use to make defeating her a whole lot more difficult.

“Where did Lady Eir take the people?”

“She didn’t say. But if I were her, I’d take them to the Old Palace. The defenses there haven’t worked in a while, but they could be turned on again in an emergency, I believe.”

Yes, that made sense. It would have been Loki’s go-to place as well. The Old Palace was certainly large enough, though it hadn’t been used since Bor’s days. Odin had built a new Palace when he had come into the throne, grander and more opulent than the old one. Hela would know of it, Loki supposed, so they should not linger. By the look on his brother’s face, he had come to the same conclusion.

“We must go.” There was a loud rumble that made them all freeze in place, watching one another warily.

“What the hell was that?” Banner asked.

Loki could only shake his head. Then they heard what sounded like footsteps. Or, more precisely, marching feet. They all rushed to the window and stared in dismay at the long line of soldiers streaming out of the palace.

“Are those… zombies?”

Loki had to agree that Banner’s assessment seemed quite accurate. The warriors looked like dead men walking. Their faces and bodies were half decomposed, what was left of their armors rotting away along with their flesh.

“Norns…” Sylvi gasped. “It can’t be…” She turned to Loki, eyes wide with fear. “Do you feel that?”

He did. There was heavy – and dark – magic surrounding the soldiers. Hela had somehow managed to revive these warriors, an army of the dead at her command. It was… sickening.

“Shit,” Bruce said, and Loki could only nod in response.

The air grew heavy with tension. Thor paced restlessly as they discussed what to do about Hela’s dead army.

“This changes things,” Valkyrie said. “How are we supposed to fight the dead? We can’t kill them, they’re already dead!”

“They’ve been revived with magic. If we break the magic they’ll go back to being dead,” Loki responded.

“And how do we do that?” Thor asked. “How did Hela do this foul thing? What kind of dark magic did this?”

Loki sighed. “I don’t know. I didn’t know this was possible.”

“She went into the vault,” Sylvi reminded them. “She could have used one of the relics there.”

Banner raised an eyebrow. “You keep stuff in there that can raise a zombie army?” 

“Nothing has ever been used as such, to the best of my knowledge, but…” Loki trailed off.

“We need to find out what she used so we can destroy it or disable it,” Thor said. “Loki, any ideas?”

“Not off the top of my head, no. I’d have to have a look at the vaults. I don’t remember all that was in there.” He had visited the vaults only once while masquerading as Odin, and that was to look at the Gauntlet. He remembered one of Thanos’s minions talking about an artifact that was capable of harnessing the power of the Infinity Stones, and had wondered about the Gauntlet Odin kept in there, supposedly a relic from a glorious victory over a great foe in Bor’s time. As far as he could tell, the Gauntlet in the vault was not the one Thanos’s generals had been discussing. There was no actual magic in it, and Loki had concluded it was merely a replica of the original object, if the legend of its origin was true.

“Then you and Sylvi should do that while the rest of us focus on protecting the people. Find whatever it is and deal with it.” He turned to Valkyrie and Banner. “We can take one of the skiffs to reach the Old Palace faster.”

“We’ll follow as soon as we can,” Loki agreed. “Try not to get killed.” He gave Banner and Valkyrie what he hoped was a significant look to keep an eye on his foolish brother, and Banner nodded. Well, at least the Hulk was probably indestructible. “Come on, Sylvi.”

*****

With a plan in mind, Thor led his companions through the empty hallways of the palace to where the skiffs were kept and they were off. 

As they travelled, Thor’s thoughts went to his people – both those who had fled from Hela and those who had perished giving them the chance to escape. It had been a long time since the people of Asgard had been at risk from internal and external threats, and now, in only a few years, they had had to deal with the Dark Elves’ incursion, Hela – and Thanos, who was still out there. Loki had tried to prepare the realm for Thanos, but Hela had caught them by surprise.

The fact that he even had a sister was still hard for Thor to believe. How could his father have made the entire realm forget her? _Why_ had he done so? Surely he had to know that the truth would have come out at some point. Had he learned nothing from what had happened to Loki? Had Frigga been in on this secret as well, or had she also been deceived? If Frigga wasn’t Hela’s mother, then who was? What had happened to her? Did she know what Odin had done to their daughter, or had Odin only been able to do it because she was no longer around to challenge him? Had she challenged him? Had she also encouraged Hela’s bloodthirstiness, or was it all on Odin? 

So many questions and no answers. 

Odin was dead. Gone forever. Yet one more reality Thor could not contemplate. He would get no answers from him. Or anything else, for that matter. He tried to think of the last time he had spoken to his father – actual Odin and not Loki pretending to be Odin – and… It must have been before the Dark Elves were defeated, when he thought Odin was being a fool by refusing to confront Malekith. He had spoken in anger then, mourning his mother and worried about Jane. Was that truly the last time? That was… sad.

Valkyrie nudged him and Thor snapped out of his maudlin thoughts to focus back to the matter at hand.“Look,” she pointed downwards.

Hela’s army could be seen marching through the forest with Hela leading them, seated on an enormous… dog? wolf?

“What’s that?” Banner asked, echoing Thor’s thoughts.

“Fenrir,” Valkyrie said. “Hela’s… faithful companion. He was slayed in the final confrontation with the Valkyries.”

“Yeah, I can see the zombie bits now,” Banner commented. Indeed there were parts of the beast’s flesh that were missing. “Loki had better figure out how to undo this zombie magic, ‘cause that thing is going to be a bitch to get rid of otherwise.”

Fortunately for them, neither Hela nor her army noticed them, and they were able to fly on undetected, reaching the palace in a matter of minutes by using the skiff’s top speed.

It had been a long time since Thor had been to the Old Palace – not since he was a teenager looking for adventure. Loki had been by his side then, and the two of them had sneaked there pretending to be on a quest. Loki had not yet began to pull away at that time, and they had enjoyed themselves – or, at least, Thor thought they did. Had Loki only been indulging him even then? Only doing what he thought he had to do to fit in?

“Now what?” Banner asked as Valkyrie maneuvered the skiff to the entrance. 

Thor shook his thoughts away once more and looked at the door. He knocked.

“Heimdall? Lady Eir?” he called. “Open the doors!”

With a creek, they did, revealing Heimdall standing behind them, Bifrost sword in hand. That was good, Thor thought. It meant Hela couldn’t use it. Although, if she was as skilled with magic as Loki, she might be able to skywalk through the branches of Yggdrasil and go wherever she wished. Not a good thought.

“My King,” the gatekeeper greeted, and Thor and his friends went in.

“Is everyone all right? Where is Lady Eir?”

“I am here,” Eir said, running up to him. She glanced at his companions with a slight frown. Expecting Loki and Sylvi, perhaps?

“Thor!”

Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were suddenly there, expressions ranging from worried (Fandral), calm (Hogun), excited (Sif) and determined (Volstagg).

Thor quickly introduced everyone (turned out Valkyrie’s name was Brunnhilde) and let them know that Hela and her dead army were marching here. In turn, Fandral gave a report on how they had managed to get to the palace. Most of the people were now hiding in the catacombs below. There were injuries, but most were well enough, though scared.

Thor nodded. “Lady Eir, gather all your apprentices and see what you can do about activating the palace’s defenses. Make sure the people are as safe as can be.” She nodded and spoke quickly to the woman next to her, who took off to obey his orders. At a nod from Thor, though, she remained. Thor turned to Heimdall and his friends. “I need you to help me stop Hela’s army.”

“Hmm… how are we supposed to fight the dead?” Fandral asked.

It only took a moment for Thor to make the decision to tell everyone about Loki. His brother would hopefully be joining them shortly, and the last thing he needed was for people to get sidetracked from the actual enemy over past… misunderstandings.

“Loki is working on that.” He raised a hand when it looked like Sif was about to say something and plowed on. “Yes, Loki is alive, and he’s here to help us. None of you,” he looked at Heimdall and Sif in particular “are to lay a hand on him. There will be severe consequences if you do. I don’t have to time to explain it all to you right now, but know that Loki is on our side, and I will tolerate no disrespect towards him.” He glared at them for good measure, then added, “and if something should happen to me, Loki is my heir and the throne shall be his.” Loki would absolutely hate it, and would no doubt find a way to get out of it and return to Midgard, but for now he needed to make certain the realm would be in good hands. “Is that understood?” Only Lady Eir seemed pleased by that prospect, but Thor was beyond caring. As long as they didn’t try to depose Loki, he would be happy (well, he would be dead, but still…).

“Gather everyone who can fight,” Thor continued in the awkward silence that had descended. “We will need help to keep Hela back while Loki breaks the magic that animates her army.”

Lady Eir bowed and left. Sif still looked like she wanted to protest, so Thor addressed his next words to Fandral. “Check all entrances and post guards there. We don’t want to be caught by surprise.” As Fandral departed, Thor turned to Banner. “I need the Hulk’s assistance.”

“Yeah, sure. Guess I’ll call dibs on the giant wolf.”

Thor gave a small smile. “Let us wait a while. We don’t want to give our position away in the unlikely chance Hela doesn’t already know where we are.”

“Not-quite-Big-Guy and I will keep an eye out for the bitch,” Brunnhilde said, taking Banner’s arm. “I have a few questions to ask anyway.” With a wave at the rest of them, they walked off.

“Heimdall, can you see Hela?”

“I cannot. She is hidden from my sight,” the gatekeeper replied, and Thor sighed. There was a time when he thought Heimdall infallible, but recent experience that shown him that it was not the case. Worse yet, it had shown him that Heimdall couldn’t entirely be trusted, at least not when it came to Loki.

“Then you will help us fight. Start taking up positions.” He looked at each of his friends and waited for them to signal their understanding. “I must check on the people.” They would probably feel better if they could see him, Thor thought, so he headed in the direction of the lower levels. Hopefully there would be enough time to assure the populace that there was a plan in place to deal with the threat before Hela arrived.

He found a large group of people, mostly women and children, in the entrance to the catacombs. It was not the most comfortable location for a siege, but it was the best they had at short notice. Thor really hoped they wouldn’t be here long, since he had no idea what they would do for food and basic amenities.

When he was finally noticed, the crowd grew silent, all watching him with hopeful eyes. It scared Thor that all these people were counting on him to save them. On the surface, it might have seemed like the same situation as the Dark Elves invasion, but it was not. For one thing, Thor was king now, so all decisions, right or wrong, were his. He no longer had the luxury of hiding behind his father and defy whatever orders he disagreed with no real consideration for the consequences. This time, he was truly aware of the weight of the crown on his shoulders. It was not about him. He could no longer afford to be selfish. Moreover, Thor’s illusions of invincibility had been stripped away. While once he had believed he would always prevail, he now knew better. The fact that Hela had easily overpowered him before – and that she had destroyed Mjolnir without breaking a sweat – did not inspire him with confidence. She was a powerful sorceress, and magic was not something Thor could really fight against on his own. Her army of the dead was a testament of that.

Still, he could not let the people know how nervous he was. He plastered on his best smile and loudly declared that the might of Asgard would never be defeated by a usurper. The people cheered with cries of ‘King Thor’, and Thor let their voices bolster his own certainty in their victory. There was no time for self-doubt now. The people’s faith in him both helped his spirits and made him more worried at the same time. His feelings were all over the place, he knew, and once again he tried to focus on the task at hand.

He spoke with a few children for a bit longer then excused himself to go back to watching for Hela’s arrival.

There was no telling how much time had passed as Thor inspected their hastily put together defenses. Lady Eir had succeeded in turning on the force field surrounding the palace, yet she wasn’t at all confident that it would stop Hela or her army. At most it would slow them down a little, she reported with a concerned frown.

“Hopefully that will be enough,” Thor told her, and she nodded.

They did not have a lot in terms of fighting bodies, unfortunately. Many of the palace guards had been slaughtered by Hela. The ones who had escaped death had seen enough of the massacre to be very wary of a second confrontation, and their fear seemed to be contagious. The news that Hela had a dead army on her side now did not make matters any easier. It had been a long time since Asgard’s warriors had had to fight against magic users, and it was clear they were ill-prepared for it. Their lack of knowledge and disdain of magic had come back to bite them, and Thor had to curse his father (and himself) again for it. Not for the first time, he realized that they would have been completely doomed if Loki wasn’t here. Thor would have to appoint an advisor on matters of magic as soon as this was over. One of Eir’s apprentices, perhaps, he thought. It was an oversight that needed to be corrected immediately.

Aside from the remaining guards, Thor had his friends, Heimdall and a few peasants and nobles who, despite not being trained in combat, had offered to lend their assistance. It was far from ideal, but there was not much to be done.

Volstagg and Sif seemed to have appointed themselves morale officers, and were trying to rally the rest of the fighters, with mixed results as far as Thor could see. He didn’t like the thought of sending even more of his people to die – which would no doubt happen to at least some of them – but what choice did he have? He could not stop Hela and her army by himself. He wasn’t sure he could stop her at all, actually. She had, after all, annihilated the Valkyries.

It was different this time, though. It was possible that she was weakened by her long imprisonment and from the amount of magic it took to animate her army. Plus, she did not know either Thor or Loki, had no idea of their capabilities. And she did not know the Hulk and his sheer destructive power. They had the advantage not of numbers, perhaps, but of information and strategy.

“My King, they are coming!” One of guards stationed at the top towers was running toward him, eyes wide. “There are… hundreds.”

Thor nodded. “Inform everyone and get back to your post.” The man nodded and ran.

With a prayer to the Norns, Thor went around the ranks to shout encouragement to the troops, such as they were. Then he walked out of the palace to meet Hela. 

Thor had to admit that she made a really intimidating sight on her hellish beast, Gugnir gleaming in her hand, her dark hair and armor almost shining in the sun. Her smile was slightly demented as she dismounted and approached. 

“So, you managed to get back, little brother?” she asked, looking supremely unconcerned by his presence. “That is unfortunate, because now I will have to kill you.”

“You can try,” Thor replied. “Many before you have, and none have succeeded.”

Hela merely chuckled. “And where is the other one? Hiding?” She made a show of looking around, as if to spot Loki lurking in the shadows.

 _Hurry up, brother_ , Thor prayed, though his expression betrayed nothing. “I am Thor Odinson, King of Asgard. I demand Gugnir’s return to its proper master.”

This time Hela let out a full blown bark of laughter. “Proper master?” Then she sobered and took a step forward, menace radiating from her posture and words. “I am Hela Odinsdottir, first born daughter of Odin Allfather, and rightful Queen of Asgard!” Her voice shook with power and fury. “Odin denied what was _mine_! He cast me out and locked me up for being better than he could ever hope to be, but the throne still belongs to me! Your claim is second to mine, little brother, and I will not give up my birthright.”

“So you’ll bring death and ruin to Asgard? Slaughter your subjects when they don’t bow down to you, a stranger to us all? Is that how you plan to rule? We are done with war, with senseless death. If that is all you want, you will find no allies here.”

It didn’t seem likely that Thor would be able to convince her to step down, but it didn’t matter. He was simply stalling, hoping to give Loki enough time to depower her army. Still, there was part of him that couldn’t help note that she was, technically, correct. As firstborn, the throne should be hers. If she weren’t hell bent on going on a rampage across Asgard and the Nine Realms, Thor would consider stepping down himself. Being king no longer had the same appeal as it had when he was young and foolish, and could see nothing but vain glory in the throne. Unfortunately, Hela seemed to share his previous misconception that being a ruler meant personal gain above all else. It was obvious that Hela cared nothing for Asgard and its people, so she could not be allowed to keep the throne. She was undeserving, just as he had once been.

“I care not about what you think,” she said. “I want what’s mine, and I shall have it, if I have to kill every last one of you.” She raised Gugnir above her head and waved her army forward. The undead warriors began moving, going past where Hela and Fenrir were still standing, only to crash into the force field that surrounded the palace.

Thor remained where he was, hands tightening on the sword he’d borrowed from the armory, missing the familiar weight of Mjolnir. _Come on, Loki_.

Hela frowned at the sight of her army unable to get through. “Well, well. You are more resourceful than I thought, little brother. I didn’t think the shield was still functional.” She gestured and the warriors fell back. “No matter. You are only delaying the inevitable.” Gugnir glowed in her hand as she pointed it at the barrier. It took no more than three blasts for it to fall apart completely.

Just as her army began to move forward again, a loud roar made the dead soldiers look up. The Hulk landed in the middle of the cluster of zombies with a scream, and with a massive swing sent dozens of zombies scattering in all directions.

And thus the battle was joined.

Thor faced off against Hela herself, and found himself terribly outmatched in moments. He would have been killed quite quickly if Heimdall and Valkyrie had not appeared to help him. Hela was incredibly fast and much stronger than she appeared. What was more, she fought with magic, sending black spells at them, making them have to keep constantly moving on the defensive.

The Hulk was doing a pretty good job of smashing zombies all over the place while dodging a snarling Fenrir. The wolf seemed pretty pissed that his bites had no effect on the Hulk except for pissing him off and making him that much more vicious. Thor was really glad the green giant was on his side.

He didn’t have a lot of time to check on the Hulk’s progress, though, as he needed all his focus to avoid Hela’s attack. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that some of the zombies had managed to get into the palace, and he could only hope that the guards inside would be able to keep them at bay until Loki could unravel the spell.

_Damn it, Loki, what is taking so bloody long?_

“Asgard is mine!” Hela screamed, slashing at Brunnhilde with Gugnir and almost taking out the Valkyrie’s head. “Die, bitch,” Brunnhilde countered, coming in low to thrust her sword at Hela’s chest. A magic shield appeared before the strike could connect, and with a snarl, Hela kicked Brunnhilde clear across the entrance to crash into the wall with a sickening crunch.

There was no time to spare for her, though, and Thor pressed on Hela, trying to take advantage of her distraction. Heimdall followed his lead and they pressed on Hela from both sides, but it was still no use. Hela thumped Gugnir to the ground and they were violently thrown backwards.

“Enough!” Hela yelled. “You have been amusing, little brother, but it is time to end this. I have realms to conquer.” The waved her free hand and thick ropes formed around Thor and Heimdall. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get free.

She advanced on him, and there was nothing Thor could do. He was screwed.


	5. Taking back the throne

Loki and Sylvi made their way to the vault in silence, though he could see her wringing her hands nervously. Truth be told, Loki was rather apprehensive himself. Even though he could simply go back to Earth – back to Tony – and leave all this mess behind, he knew he wasn’t going to. Not just for Thor, but for everyone else in Asgard – including people he hadn’t even known were on his side. He might not like most people in the realm, but that didn’t mean he wished them harm. Even Thor’s annoying friends and that traitor Heimdall deserved better than to be slaughtered by a zombie army. He would love to see the look on their faces when they saw who was going to save their asses, though. It would be a real shame to remain in obscurity for this one.

“Where should we look?” Sylvi asked, drawing Loki’s attention.

“This way.”

The vault was huge, containing hundreds of artifacts of all shapes, sizes and purposes. The most dangerous ones were in the deepest section, guarded by the Destroyer. Would they have to go through it? It was designed to keep any unauthorized people out, but it could be fooled. And it could be defeated.

As soon as they passed the threshold, it activated. Its head glowed orange as it turned in their direction. Sylvi let out a distressed noise, but Loki simply stared at it, willing the construct to recognize him. He had once ruled Asgard, after all, and thus commanded it. He was hoping that some awareness of that fact remained in what passed for its mind.

He took a small step forward. “Stand aside for Loki, Prince of Asgard,” he said. He might not wish that title anymore, but it was technically still his. Odin hadn’t actually disowned him, and Thor certainly hadn’t, so Loki’s status was unchanged despite his departure.

The Destroyer tilted its head as if considering the matter, then it powered down and returned to its pod. Sylvi breathed a sigh of relief, and so did Loki. One less thing to worry about.

A little further into the chamber stood the Gauntlet replica, the Tesseract (thank the Norns Hela hadn’t touched that. He wondered if she knew what it was) and the Casket of Ancient Winters. Loki felt his heart constrict at the sight of it for a myriad of different reasons. Its power called to him like a siren song, as if Loki was meant to have it and wield it. He had not noticed it much the one and only time he had used it, since his entire world had been on the brink of falling apart at the time, and he’d only had room for panic and desperation in his heart. Now, though, he could feel it, and he didn’t want to. He wasn’t ready to face who he was and what the Casket might mean to him. He had plans to return it to Jotunheim someday, but for now he had more important things to worry about. With an effort, he yanked his gaze away from it and kept going. They had a task to accomplish.

The short corridor ended in a large open area, in which they found a huge hole on the floor.

Sylvi stared. “What… What happened?”

They peered over the edge cautiously. It was dark, so Loki cast a small light to illuminate the cavern below. It was still a little difficult to see, but it looked like this was where the dead warriors had come from. Loki had no idea there was a cemetery underneath the vaults. No doubt there was plenty more he didn’t know about Asgard’s history; clearly Odin was very selective with what he shared. As Tony had taught him, history was written by the victors, and Odin had made sure only a certain version of history was told. Who knew what other secrets were waiting to be discovered.

“Prince Loki!” Sylvi shouted, and Loki looked up again. She was standing on the other side of the room, pointing at something.

Loki sensed it as soon as he was close enough – the source of the dark magic Hela had used.

“The Eternal Flame,” Loki murmured. He had heard about it, but had never really studied it in depth. He had no idea it could be used for something like this, though it made some sense. How Hela knew about it he didn’t know, but it wasn’t important now. They had to find a way to shut it down.

“All right. Let’s do this.” It was something Tony would say, and Loki once again wished he was back home with his lover. _Soon_ , he told himself. He just had to destroy the Eternal Flame (probably not easy if the name was anything to go by), defeat Hela and re-establish order to Asgard. _Piece of cake_.

He spent a few moments getting a feel for the magic of the Flame, trying to find some weakness he could exploit. There didn’t seem to be any that he could detect, no wavering in the pulse of power coming from it.

Sylvi tried an extinguishing spell, but it had no effect. Loki did the same with an identical result. Of course it couldn’t be that easy. When had anything in his life ever been easy?

They tried spell after spell to disrupt the Flame and nothing worked. Not so much as a flicker. The energy remained steady just like the name implied.

“Damn it,” Loki cursed. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he imagined Hela must have been nearly at the Old Palace by now. That meant Thor and the rest of Asgard were about to come under attack, and they would have no way to defend themselves. And Thor, stupid fool that he was, would keep fighting anyway. He would be at a huge disadvantage without Mjolnir, the weapon he had relied on for centuries, and would end up dead. No. Loki couldn’t let that happen. He and Thor were only just beginning to repair their relationship, to be brothers again. He would _not_ let the oaf die now.

But how was he supposed to put out this accursed Flame? _With ice_ , he thought, and wanted to smack himself on the head for not thinking of it sooner. He rushed back to the hallway and grabbed the Casket before he could think too much about what he was doing, lest he lose his nerve. Now was not the time to be having a self-identity crisis, he could freak out later – assuming he’d still be alive to do so.

It was only Sylvi’s startled gasp that made Loki aware that his skin had changed color, but he paid her no mind. He ignored the blue of his hands as he raised the Casket in front of himself and summoned its power. As before, it came readily, almost eagerly, a maelstrom of ice and wind filling his mind and the air around him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Sylvi pressing herself against the wall to escape the onslaught of magic the Casket was releasing.

There was no more time to worry about the effect the Casket might have on him. And Loki found that he was, strangely, no longer afraid. It felt _right_ to use it, to let its magic work through him, to fill him with its icy touch, which was, incongruously enough, warming. He had no words to describe it, but it was… nice. Like coming home. In his mind’s eye, he could almost see the frozen landscape of Jotunheim jutting with ice and swirling with a vast array of silver and gray. It was not desolate as he had thought, not barren at all, but teeming with a strange sort of life. It was… beautiful. And peaceful. Loki felt as if he could reach out and touch it, to be one with the ice. To command it into shapes and structures, to–

“Prince Loki!”

The shout brought Loki back to the moment, and he blinked away the vision with some difficulty. Right. He had a job to do.

He focused the power of the Casket and blasted the Eternal Flame with the Ancient Winter of Jotunheim. The Flame resisted, its heat increasing in response to the attack, so Loki redoubled his efforts, calling on more ice and wind.

The Flame began to flicker, spurting more and more until it finally froze completely, its green replaced by blue, and the magic died.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief and let his arms fall, dropping the Casket to the ground. Now that he was no longer in contact with it, he realized how much wielding it had tired him. A wave of dizziness made him stumble and fall on legs that felt like jelly.

“Prince Loki, do–”

“Don’t come any closer,” he said, eyes glued to his still blue hands. If he was honest, he didn’t want to see Sylvi’s look of disgust at his true form. Loki hadn’t actually seen himself like this, and would prefer not to. While he knew that a lot of what he believed about the Jotnar was probably not entirely true – a result of Asgard’s prejudices and sense of superiority – it didn’t mean that those ideas could be easily discarded. He would have to deal with it at some point, but now really wasn’t the right time for it.

He willed his skin to go back to normal – or, more accurately, back to what he was used to. It seemed to take forever, though in reality it couldn’t have been more than a minute. Finally, the blue gave way to the pale hue he’d had most of his life. Only then did he stand up again, swaying slightly before regaining his footing.

He had expected to feel more at ease once the transformation had been reversed, yet he felt… bereft. This time, going back to his usual skin felt like putting on shoes that were a size too small. The sense of rightness he’d experience with the Casket’s magic was gone, leaving a void in its place. It was… disconcerting.

“Prince Loki?”

With a deep breath, Loki shoved those disturbing feelings to the back of his mind and straightened. There was still work to be done. Hela’s army was probably gone, but Hela herself was not.

He turned to face Sylvi at last, trying for a smile that was likely not very convincing.

“Are you all right, Sire?” she asked. There was worry in her gaze, yet no sigh of fear. Or revulsion.

Loki cocked his head. “I’m fine,” he replied. “Are you all right?” He made no move to close the distance between them and neither did she.

“Yes, I’m quite well. The magic is gone,” she added. “That means the army must have gone back to being corpses, right?”

“Yes, I believe so.” He certainly hoped so. He could not imagine how Hela would be able to keep them animated without the Eternal Flame’s energy to sustain them.

He took a small step forward to inspect the frozen Flame. Would it thaw out eventually, he wondered, or was it gone for good? He tried to remember what he knew of it. It was the weapon of the Fire Giants of Muspelheim, like the Casket was for the Jotnar. Fire and Ice. Which one was more powerful?

“My Prince?” Sylvi approached and laid a hesitant hand on his arm, drawing his mind back once again. He really needed to keep his head in the game here. Why was it so hard? He wasn’t usually such a scatterbrain.

“Yes, let’s go.” Mentally shaking himself, he turned and picked up the Casket so he could put it back in its stand. The brief contact was enough to make his hand switch back to blue, and he hurried to let go of it. The Casket continued to call to him but he ignored it and kept going, Sylvi at his heels.

Once they were out of the vaults, Loki took her hand to teleport them to the Old Palace, and she didn’t flinch at all. In fact, she offered him a small grin.

Maybe things were going to be okay after all.

*****

Gugnir gleamed as Hela raised it above her head. Then she screamed, a mixture of anger and agony, stumbling back a few steps. “No!” she yelled.

All around them, the zombie army fell like puppets with their strings cut – a very apt metaphor for the situation. Thor breathed a sigh of relief. Loki had done it; he’d ended the spell.

“How? What did you do?” Hela turned back to him, fury blazing in her eyes.

Still caught in Hela’s magical ropes, Thor could only grin at her.

“I’ll kill you,” she hissed.

She raised Gugnir again only to be blasted to the side by a burst of familiar green magic.

“You keep your hands off my brother, bitch,” Loki said.

Thor couldn’t help grin as he remembered the footage Tony had shown him of Loki taking Wanda’s powers away. He’d said something similar then. It had made Thor’s heart lighten. At that time, he and Loki had been estranged, yet Loki still cared enough to punish Wanda for violating Thor’s mind. Now their relationship was much improved, and Loki remained protective. There had been many instances of such protectiveness in the past, Thor realized – he had simply been too blind to see it. Too stuck on his own pride and stubbornness to admit that he’d ever needed help from Loki, or from anyone. What an idiot he’d been.

The ropes weakened and Thor was able to twist free, leaping to his feet to go help Loki.

“So, other little brother is the one who destroyed my army, is it?” Hela asked, having regained her footing. She and Loki circled each other.

“Yes, that was me.”

“Well, I guess I shall have to kill you both, then.”

She lunged for Loki, who dodged her attack. He parried with a thrown dagger, which made Hela step out of the way right into Thor’s reach. Since he’d lost his sword, he only had his own body to fight with, so he punched her.

“I am the Queen of Asgard!” Hela shouted. “The throne belongs to me!” Gugnir hit the floor again and they were thrown backwards.

“We’ll see about that,” Loki said, and thrust his hand forward the same way Thor did when calling Mjolnir.

For a moment, Thor had no idea what his brother was trying to do, then he saw Hela’s expression of dismay as Gugnir trembled and almost slipped from her hand.

“How…?” she hissed, struggling to hold on to the staff.

“I ruled Asgard a lot longer then you, _sister_ ,” Loki replied, a wicked grin in his face. “I have better command of Gugnir and the magic of the realm than you.” He made a yanking motion and Gugnir flew to his hand.

Hela made an inarticulate sound of rage and launched herself at Loki. Even without Gugnir, she was still a powerful sorcerer and an excellent fighter. Loki seemed to be on the defensive, dodging and weaving out of her way rather than attacking.

“Look,” Loki said. “We don’t have to kill each other.”

“I am not going back to prison,” Hela snarled.

“No one said anything about prison. You can just… make a fresh start. You don’t have to stick with the life Odin chose for you. You can build a new one.” His tone was conciliatory, almost pleading. Thor hoped Hela would listen to what he was saying.

“I don’t _want_ a new life. I want the one Father _stole_ from me. The one I was meant to have.”

Thor wondered what his father had been thinking, encouraging Hela’s bloodthirstiness to such a degree. What did he think she was going to do once she sat on the throne? Once the Nine Realms were conquered, would she keep going, expanding her empire outside of it? Extending the _carnage_ elsewhere? They could not let that happen.

“Well, I’m afraid we can’t allow that, not when you intend to bring war to the Nine Realms,” Loki said, echoing Thor’s thoughts. “We have a Mad Titan gunning for us, so we need to stand together. Fighting amongst ourselves is the last thing we need right now.”

Yes, Thanos was still out there. All their preparations would be for naught if Hela was allowed to do as she wished. Thanos would destroy them. Hela might be powerful, but even she would be no match for the Titan and his army.

“I don’t care. The throne is _mine_.” She called up a dozen dagger from nowhere and flung them at Loki, who conjured a shield to protect himself. Thor was hoping for an opening, but she was too clever to fall for the same trick twice and was keeping her distance from him. Just as she reared up for a new attack, the Hulk landed next to her, coming from Norns knew where.

“Hulk smash puny goddess,” he said, and proceeded to smash Hela into the ground by her leg like he’d done with Loki back during the invasion – and with Thor in Sakaar.

 _Ouch_. Thor knew very well how much that hurt.

When the Hulk let go, Hela remained sprawled in the crater her body had made on the ground, a faint noise of distress coming from her. Loki tossed Gugnir back to Thor. “Bind her powers.”

Thor blinked, then remembered what his father had done to him after his foolish incursion into Jotunheim. Yes, the king could do that. He took a deep breath, centered his thoughts the way Loki had taught him, and called upon the magic of Asgard.

“Hela Odinsdottir, I take from you your power and bind your magic, so that you might learn more peaceful ways,” he said, using many of the same words Odin had used long ago. He tapped Gugnir on the floor and felt the magic respond to his command.

“NO!” Hela screamed. She stood shakily and threw herself at him, trying to reach the staff, but Thor stepped away from her and hit her hard enough to send her back to the ground, unconscious.

There was a moment of silence, then shouts and cheers came from the upper portions of the Palace, where the people were leaning out of the windows, watching.

Sif and the Warriors Three stumbled out of the palace, weapons drawn. They were all a bit banged up, bleeding from several wounds, though none appeared to be life-threatening. As soon they saw Loki, Volstagg and Sif tensed like they were preparing for an assault.

“Stand down,” Thor said, voice ringing with authority. He still clutched Gugnir in his hand.

“Banner come out now?” Hulk asked, nudging Hela with a massive foot. “Smashing all done?”

“Yes. Thank you, my friend. Your help was much appreciated.” Thor smiled at the giant and got a small grin in return.

“Puny goddess no match for Hulk.” Hulk preened.

Brunnhilde came jogging up from the grounds where she had been fighting the zombie army to give the Hulk a shoulder bump. “That was pretty satisfying, Big Guy. Loved the way you thrashed that bitch.” She turned to Thor. “Can I kill her now, your Majesty?” The title might be a bit mocking, but her expression was serious.

Thor looked back at Hela and sighed. “No. I don’t know what to do with her yet. She’s to be taken to the dungeons until I can make a decision.” Brunnhilde was clearly not happy with that, but she didn’t argue.

His father was dead. His mother was dead. He didn’t want to lose a sister too, even if it was a… rather homicidal one. Perhaps she could still be reasoned with. Locking her away was Odin’s method of dealing with misbehaving children (or, more precisely, the ones that didn’t do exactly what he wanted), but Thor could be better. He _wanted_ to be better. A better brother, a better king.

“Heimdall,” Thor called, and the gatekeeper approached. “Go back to your post at the Bifrost until I send for you.” It would be best to keep Heimdall away from Sif and the others, lest they all start plotting against Loki. He would if he had to, but Thor would prefer not to put his friends in prison along with Hela. Not just yet, at least.

Heimdall was evidently not happy about the order, and seemed like he wanted to protest, so Thor turned away from him and strode up to the palace and the people. “The threat is past. Let us return to the Palace. There is still much to do to restore order to the realm.”

Lady Eir stepped out, her apprentices herding the women, children and elderly who had hidden away.

“Prince Loki!” Hingl yelled with a smile, and several of the other apprentices followed suit in greeting Loki warmly. Loki seemed quite surprised by their welcoming attitude.

Unfortunately, not everyone shared their pleasure at having Loki back. Thor could see a number of people – the guards who were left and many of the nobles trailing behind them – with suspicious expressions. It would be better to get Loki out of here for a while, he thought. Still, he was glad that cat was out of the bag, as the saying went. All in all, he could not have chosen a better way to present Loki’s continued existence. There was distrust now, sure, but the people had heard that he’d been the one to destroy Hela’s army, and had _seen_ Loki fight beside him, and give Gugnir back as soon as Hela had been dealt with. Plus, Thor now knew he could count on the magic users to be a positive voice as well.

“Loki, can you take Hela to the dungeons and make sure she is secure?” he asked, hoping his brother would understand what Thor was trying to do.

Loki bowed. “As you wish, your Majesty.” The solicitousness in his voice was odd, yet it served its purpose – the people eying Loki warily seemed more at ease.

“Take Banner and Brunnhilde with you, just in case,” Thor added. The Hulk shrunk back down into Banner and wobbled for a moment. The Valkyrie gave him a hand to steady himself and grinned. Once he was stable, she moved to help Loki carry Hela’s unconscious form. Then Loki teleported the four of them away.

After they were gone, Thor addressed his people again. “Lady Eir, can you get everyone back?”

“Yes, my King.”

“Good.”

The dead army was still lying in heaps all over wherever they had fallen, and something would have to be done about them, but Thor figured it could wait. They weren’t going anywhere any more, after all. As he finished his survey of the battle, he found that Heimdall had not moved, and Thor frowned.

“I believe I gave you an order, Gatekeeper. Was I not clear or have you developed a hearing problem?” The sarcastic delivery was more Loki’s style than his, and it made his friends look at him strangely, but Thor was tired and in no mood to deal with any more rebellion. “If you do not wish to do your job, I can arrange for a new gatekeeper.” Perhaps he should do that regardless. Thor was no longer quite sure of Heimdall’s loyalty.

With a stiff bow, Heimdall answered. “I am departing now, my King. I apologize for the delay.”

“Take the skiff so you can make haste,” _since you’ve been dallying about_ went unsaid. “I will go with the others.”

It took some coordination to teleport several hundred people back to Asgard’s Palace. As much as Thor wanted to just go back to his chamber and fall into bed, he stayed until everyone was safely returned. It was only when everything was quiet again, and arrangements had been made for proper funerals for the murdered guards, that Thor let the fatigue he’d been keeping at bay overtake him.

He still had to arrange Odin’s funeral. His father was dead. Gone forever. Alone in the destroyed throne room, Thor allowed the grief to come.

*****

They materialized at the entrance to the palace since there were spells in place to prevent teleportation into the dungeons. Loki secured Hela on his shoulder and started walking, Banner and Brunnhilde following him.

“What do you think your brother is going to do with her?” Brunnhilde asked.

“I don’t know,” Loki replied.

“I know she seems a bit on the crazy side,” Banner interjected, “but… no offense to you guys… Can’t really blame her. I mean, if even a quarter of the stuff in Norse mythology is true… That is really fucked up.”

“Most of it is _not_ true,” Loki told him. He’d gotten curious after Jarvis had asked a few questions, so he’d read through the stories that humans had turned into myth. In truth, he hadn’t known whether to be horrified, annoyed or amused. “There are a few that have some basis in reality, but most of it is… I don’t even know where you got all that from.”

“Oh. Well, that’s good to know.”

“However, you are right about Asgard being a bit… fucked up. Odin in particular is… was… a dick.”

“Never thought I’d hear an Asgardian say that,” Brunnhilde commented. “Especially one of his children.”

“Well, Odin isn’t really my father.” Loki might think of Frigga as his mother despite their different blood, but Odin… no. He could never think of Odin as his father again.

They arrived at the dungeons and Loki dumped Hela in one of the cells, trying very hard not to look at the place or at the prisoners too closely. He dumped her in the nearest cell, made sure it was secure, and turned back. He’d had quite a lot of the dungeons to last him a few more lifetimes.

“You still haven’t explained how you go from this to… the Big Guy,” Brunnhilde said to Banner.

The human sighed. “It was… an experiment gone wrong. I was… stupid. Foolish. A bit arrogant. Instead of doing what it was supposed to do, the serum I used on myself turned me into… the Hulk.”

“What was it supposed to do?”

“It was supposed to… make me stronger, faster. Immune to disease.”

“Well, it did do that, didn’t it?” Loki commented. “With a few unexpected side-effects.”

Banner shook his head. “Yeah, I guess.”

“I don’t know why you’re complaining,” Brunnhilde said with a shrug. “You’re a great warrior.”

“Humans don’t put as much stock in physical strength as the Aesir do,” Loki explained. “And Banner here is a scientist, not a warrior.”

The look Banner gave him was an odd one. “You really have been living on Earth?”

“Yes. I left Asgard for good about a year ago.”

“And you’re actually an Avenger? Or whatever the team is called now.”

“Yes. I was not entirely myself during the invasion.”

“Yeah, I can see that. No more bag of cats.”

Loki frowned a bit, unfamiliar with that particular phrase, but the meaning was clear enough. “As soon as we sort out this mess, I’ll take you back.” He actually wanted to leave right away. However, it wouldn’t be fair to leave Thor alone right now. Aside from figuring out what to do with Hela, his brother still had Odin’s death to deal with.

“No problem. I’ve been away for… I don’t even know. I can wait a few more days.”

“Three years.”

“Three years?! Shit.”

The first few people began arriving then, so Loki, Banner and Brunnhilde made themselves useful in helping them settle in and removing the corpses of the guards so they could be prepared for the funerals. There was a lot less hostility from the people than Loki had expected, which made what could have been a gruesome task a little less horrible.

Night had fallen by the time everything was mostly settled. Loki had arranged quarters for Banner and Brunnhilde, then retreated to his own chambers. Going to see Thor crossed his mind, but he didn’t want to be seen with his brother too much right now. It was best, he thought, to let people know, without a doubt, that it was Thor who was the king of Asgard.

Still, Thor knocked on his door just as Loki had gotten to bed.

“Loki? Are you there? Can I come in?”

“Yes, come in.”

Thor looked haggard. His shoulders were slumped, like he carried the weight of the world on them. The sight of his short hair was disconcerting, and made him look older. With a heavy sigh, Thor dropped into the armchair.

“How are you?” Loki asked.

“I… I don’t know. I… I wish I could talk to father, but I don’t know that I would have liked anything he might have to say. I thought I was doing well as king, and now… I don’t know anymore.” There was grief and worry in his eyes, and Loki felt a little sorry for him. The throne was a heavy burden to bear, Loki was well aware.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re doing fine.”

“You really think so?”

“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true. When have I ever catered to your ego?”

Thor gave him a small smile at that. “Thank you, brother.”

They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Loki’s mind drifted to Earth and Tony. He really should go back as soon as possible, he didn’t want his lover to worry – and Loki couldn’t help be a little worried about his friends as well.

“I thought,” Thor began at last “that tomorrow we can… give the people a few more details about what happened with Hela, and your role in defeating her. It seems like a good idea to have you officially reinstated as Prince of Asgard.” He looked like he was waiting for something, so Loki nodded. It was the best opportunity they were likely to have, after all. Good PR and all that. “I also… kind of told everyone you are my heir. You know, in case I didn’t survive.”

Loki pursed his lips in annoyance. “I am _not_ coming back to rule, Thor.” Good PR or not, he didn’t think people would take kindly to _that_.

“I know, I know,” Thor said before Loki could start ranting. “It’s just… well, I don’t have any children yet, I just didn’t want Hela do have it by default… But since I didn’t actually die, and Hela has been dealt with, it’s all fine. I just wanted you to know.”

Loki sighed, rubbing his temples to stave off the headache he could feel coming. “I understand, Thor. But this is not my home anymore.” If it had ever been. “You should start thinking about making alternate arrangements for succession.”

It was Thor’s turn to sigh. “I know. Some of the Councilors have been hinting, some not so subtly, that I should marry.”

“That would be prudent from a political standpoint,” Loki agreed. Marriage was often a way to make alliances – it had certainly been so for Odin and Frigga – and both Loki and Thor had grown up with that idea in mind. Now, however, having been given a taste of what a true relationship was, Loki couldn’t imagine marrying a stranger for political convenience. He was very glad he no longer had to, and definitely didn’t envy Thor the possibility.

The expression on Thor’s face made it clear he was also not enthused by the idea. “I wouldn’t even know where to start with that.”

“I don’t think you need to worry about that right now. You still have time.”

Thor nodded, grateful for the reprieve. “So, do you have any thoughts about how to handle things from here?”

They spent a while planning, then Thor went back to his own quarters to rest for a bit. Despite the fact that his situation in Asgard seemed to be on the verge of improvement, Loki still couldn’t wait to leave and go home.


	6. Order restored

It was late afternoon on the following day when the people gathered by the shore to say goodbye to the fallen.

First it was Odin Allfather, sent off with all the pomp and circumstance that befitted a former king. Thor and Loki stood side by side as they watched the skiff float away. Thor had managed to get through the speech he’d prepared as well as could be expected, and now found himself with no further words to say. The grief and loss was still choking him. And regret. He had so many regrets… So many things left unsaid and unexplained. He would never get answers now, not from Odin. Loki had told him that he’d have to find his own answers, to make his own path, and Thor wasn’t sure he could. The old insecurities had come back tenfold, and even Loki’s reassurances weren’t enough.

Odin was truly gone now. It was up to Thor to keep the realm going. Of course he’d been doing it for the last several months, yet it seemed different now. It seemed… permanent. It seemed… daunting. He wasn’t ready. He tried to remember Tony’s words that failure was a part of life, and that mistakes should be seen as an opportunity to learn. It sounded good in theory, but Thor wasn’t sure how to put it into practice. What had he learned from all this tragedy? How could he do better? He had no idea.

The skiff with his father body dropped down into the void, its light disappearing with it. Thor said a silent prayer to the Norns and gestured for the servants to release the other skiffs, the ones containing the dead guards and a few others who had perished in Hela’s attack. The waters were painted yellow and orange from all the lights as the boats carrying the departed went to join Odin. Distantly, he heard people praying to their loved ones, a few singing songs of mourning.

It reminded him too much of the aftermath of the Dark Elves’ invasion, when it had been his mother’s body being taken by the waters. Norns, how he missed her. So much loss in such a short period of time… At least this time he had his brother.

 _I am not alone_ , he told himself. It was funny that someone who had always prided himself on being self-sufficient should be so afraid of loneliness now. He had been such a fool…

Once all the skiffs had disappeared beyond the horizon, the quiet procession of people made their way back to the palace. Thor had a lot of things he needed to say to the realm.

The throne room was packed, all seats filled and many more people standing at any available space. It was not often that there was such a gathering. There seemed to be even more people now than at Thor’s coronation. Or maybe it was just his nerves.

Thor waited a while, steeling himself, then thumped Gugnir on the ground once. Immediately the crowd fell silent.

“People of Asgard,” he began. “It is with a heavy heart that we have sent our family members and loved ones to the halls of Valhalla. But we also celebrate our victory over a dangerous opponent.” He took a deep breath and stood, sweeping his eyes over the assembly. “I was just as surprised as the rest of you to hear Hela’s claim to the throne, yet it seems to be true that she is Odin’s first-born child.” He pointed up at the frescos Hela had uncovered. Thor wasn’t sure what he was going to do about that, whether to leave them as they were or commission a new mural to be painted. “However, as she has shown herself unfit to rule, she will remain imprisoned – at least until I have a chance to speak to her and determine the best course of action for the long term.” After a short pause, he went on. “The fact that no one remembers her is… troubling, and something that I will be looking into as soon as possible. If anyone has any information regarding that issue, I ask that you share it with me and the Council at the next meeting.”

Now came the more complicated part, he thought.

“It is not all dire news, fortunately. I am pleased to officially reinstate my brother, Prince Loki, to the halls of Asgard.” At that cue, Loki strode in, his green cloak billowing at his heels. He was wearing his armor sans the helmet, and stared straight ahead at Thor, ignoring the murmuring crowd.

“I have known for some time that Loki was alive,” Thor continued. He didn’t want people to think Loki had deceived him, even though Thor could now understand why Loki had done so. “We thought it best to… let things be. New information came to light that made that decision… beneficial for us, for Asgard.” This was what Loki called ‘spinning the truth’, which meant disclosing a careful version of the truth and allowing the inevitable assumptions people would make to do the rest. There was a time when Thor would have thought such a thing deceitful and dishonorable. Experience, however, had shown him that things were not so simple and black and white, and sometimes a certain amount of manipulation was required.

“For the past several months, Loki has been on… a special assignment, strengthening our alliance with Midgard and acquiring important information about a possible enemy we might soon be facing.” All of that was, technically, true, though calling it an ‘assignment’ was a bit of a stretch. “It was extremely fortunate that Loki had been here to give a report” that bit was bordering on a lie “when Hela appeared to threaten us. It was due to Loki’s intervention that Hela’s army of the dead was stopped, thus allowing us to win the battle and re-take control of the realm.” He looked at his brother, who remained at parade rest at the foot of the throne, and bowed. “Asgard thanks you, brother.”

Loki returned the bow. “I am happy to have been able to help, my King.”

Thor turned his gaze back to the people. “Despite the less than ideal circumstances, I am glad that the ruse of Loki’s ‘death’ is no longer necessary. I’d like to take the opportunity, then, to also officially announce Loki’s position as Ambassador to Midgard, in the hopes that our two realms will continue to work together in friendship. As a representative of Midgard, I call upon Dr Bruce Banner, my shield brother in the Avengers, to confirm the appointment.”

Banner walked up the length of the room to stand beside Loki. They had all agreed that it would be better to do things this way. Thor wanted to make certain that the people knew this was not a unilateral decision on Asgard’s part. Of course Banner had no actual power or position in Midgard, but the people of Asgard didn’t know that little detail.

“The people of Earth – I mean, Midgard – welcome Asgard’s friendship and alliance,” Banner said, sounding just a little nervous. Loki had wanted to bring Tony here for this, but Thor hadn’t wanted his brother to leave just yet, even if temporarily, so they had to make do with Banner. It was just for show anyway.

Thor nodded to Banner and continued. “I would also like to take the opportunity to officially announce that, until… other arrangements… are made, Loki is my heir and the successor to the throne, should tragedy befall me.” Loki had thought that would make people angry, and the murmurs and mutterings of the crowd seemed to agree with that assessment. Thor allowed just a few moments of it, sad and weary for his brother’s sake, before thumping Gugnir again to call for silence.

To distract people from the news of Loki’s claim on the throne, he changed the subject to the plans for reconstruction of the damaged parts of the palace, then announced it was time for the feast, “to commemorate our victory and remember our losses,” he explained. There was more to war than glory, he’d learned, and he didn’t want anyone to forget what war cost – least of all himself.

It was not the grandest feast they’d ever had – and there was no reason for it to be – but it was enough to lift the people’s spirits, it seemed. Thor used to like feasts a lot more, back when they felt like an extension of his own arrogant pride. Now he cringed as he recalled his previous behavior. For that reason, he made sure to loudly recount Loki’s contributions, as well as praise Lady Eir and the other sorceresses who had been instrumental in evacuating people to safety. All of them seemed surprised by his words and the proposed toast in their honor, and Thor once again felt ashamed of himself for having always dismissed their talents and skills before. It was definitely time to change people’s minds about magic and magic users in Asgard.

There was clearly still a lot of work to do. Thor only hoped he would be up to the task.

*****

It was the morning after the feast, and Loki was almost crawling the walls with the desire to be gone from this place. Even with Thor’s effusive praise and support, there were still far too many people who weren’t happy about his continued existence. It was only his word to Thor that he would remain until they had dealt with everything that prevented him from just getting the hell away.

Just a few more hours, he told himself, making his way to the Council Room. At least he’d been able to get the books from the library he needed to start figuring out how to fix Tony’s distressing mortality issue.

After knocking, he went in to find Heimdall, Thor’s idiotic friends, Banner and Brunnhilde already there, all looking at each other with various expressions of distrust. _Oh this is going to be fun_ , Loki thought.

“Ah, there you are, brother,” Thor said with a warm smile. Sif seemed to be trying to incinerate Loki with her eyes, which Loki now found deeply amusing. (It used to sadden him, and he was glad he was free from their judgment now, because he truly didn’t give a shit about what they thought anymore.)

“Thor. Banner. Brunnhilde.” Loki greeted each with a nod, purposefully ignoring the others. Volstagg and Sif looked angry. Heimdall and Hogun were far more subtle with their expressions, yet they too were displeased. Only Fandral seemed unconcerned, though a bit tense.

“Everyone, please take your seats. We have a few things to discuss.”

“Thor, I don’t think–” Sif interjected, but was quickly cut off.

“Perhaps I misspoke when it said it would be a discussion,” Thor said with clenched jaw. “I meant that I have some things to say, and you will listen. Then, if I give you leave, you will respond.” His glare shut Sif up, and Loki smiled to himself. It was quite satisfying to see her put in her place. She had gotten away with a great deal of insolence and insubordination for far too long.

Once she had subsided with a disgruntled huff and a sideways glance at Loki, Thor continued.“As I said yesterday, Loki is a Prince of Asgard, my brother and my heir. His authority remains as it has always been, and I will not tolerate any disrespect towards him from anyone.” The glare was back with a vengeance.

Thor stood straight in his high chair, commanding attention and respect. It really was amazing how much Thor seemed to have matured since taking the throne – and since getting a rather big kick in the ass to become a more thoughtful and smart person. Since having a lot of his illusions shattered and a lot of his shortcomings rubbed in his face.

“It has come to my attention that some of you have been… lacking… in that regard. Some of you seem to have forgotten that your loyalty is not to one person, but to the crown and the whole of the realm.” He looked sternly at the gatekeeper. “Heimdall, you have repeatedly disobeyed the king and acted based on personal bias, and have suffered no consequences. That cannot be allowed to continue. If you do not wish to pledge your loyalty to Asgard, then a new gatekeeper will be found.”

“My loyalty has always been with Asgard, my King,” the man replied. His golden eyes were furious, though he hid it well.

“You disobeyed Odin and Loki for personal reasons. You have shown yourself biased against Loki – and, therefore, the crown. In truth, I am beginning to think it is only a matter of time until you decide you are no longer required to listen to me as well.”

 _Ouch_ , Loki thought. That was a pretty powerful accusation. Not that Loki didn’t think it was warranted, be certainly did, but it was very harsh to say so in front of everyone.

“If you have a problem with an order, you are free to voice your disagreement, which may or may not be heard or taken into account. You may _not_ simply ignore it if it doesn’t suit you.”

“Loki is a Frost Giant. How can you possibly trust him?” Sif said, unable to keep her mouth shut. Though they were smart enough not to say it, it was obvious that Volstagg and Hogun agreed with her.

Loki smiled, all sharp teeth. “Indeed I am,” he retorted, utterly unconcerned. “Hogun is Vanir. Banner is Midgardian. What of it?” His tone was as nonchalant as he could make it, which infuriated her. It had taken him some time to reach peace with his origin – or mostly, anyway – and he’d be dammed if he let any of these assholes see his squirm. It was also high time for the people in Asgard to be called out on their racist mentality.

“Loki’s species is immaterial,” Thor said in a voice that brokered no argument. “He is my brother and I _do_ trust him.” He looked down on Sif, Volstagg and Hogun, all hints of amity gone from his gaze. “Frankly, I trust him a lot more than any of you. I called you here today to give you one last chance to mend your ways because of the friendship we once shared. I can see now that it was a mistake. To speak against Loki is to speak against the throne, and if you continue to do so, you will be charged with treason and sent to the dungeons. You have already had too much leeway. It ends now.”

“Hey, I have no problem with Loki,” Fandral said, a lot more timidly than was his wont. He was the most agreeable of Thor’s friends. His attitude had always been mostly ‘live and let live’; if it didn’t directly affect him, he wasn’t bothered by anything. And he’d always been more interested in the pursuit of pleasure than in the glory of battle. On his own, he was pretty harmless.

“See that you remain that way, then,” Thor replied. Then he turned to the others with a frosty scowl. “Now begone from my sight. You too, Heimdall. And all of you, heed my words. This is your final warning.”

Volstagg opened his mouth like he wanted to say something – plead with Thor, probably – but Fandral shook his head and herded his friends out. Heimdall sent one last scathing glance at Loki and joined them.

Once they were gone, Thor deflated a bit, looking tired. “Loki, before you leave, I’d like your recommendations for a new gatekeeper, if you have any. I don’t think Heimdall is suitable anymore.”

Loki nodded. “I may have a couple of possibilities.” Both candidates Loki was considering were not exactly the typical Asgardian warriors, but that was precisely why they might be a good fit. Perhaps it was time to shake things up here, to step a little farther from tradition. Asgard had been stagnant fo too long, and it had done the realm no favors.

“Brunnhilde, would you like to rebuild the Valkyries?” Thor asked, turning to her. She had remained silent the entire time, though she had paid close attention. Loki wondered what she thought about Asgard, and how it compared with the realm she had once known.

“I… I’m not sure.” The spark in her eyes had been ignited, though, Loki could see it. Despite her proclamations in Sakaar that she didn’t care about Asgard anymore, there was a hunger in her now – she wanted to regain something of what she’d lost. “Can I think about it?” Her demeanor was the most tentative they’d seen since meeting her.

“Of course. Let me know what you decide. If you do want it, I shall arrange for anything you need to make it happen. We need good warriors, and it has been a long time since the women of Asgard were given the chance to fight, if they so wish.”

After the Valkyries had been obliterated, the tradition of female warriors had pretty much died out, and they were relegated to almost second class citizens. Sif had had a hard road in proving herself a competent fighter, and had only succeeded as well as she did due to her association with Thor. From an egalitarian perspective, it would be good to have the Valkyries again.

“Thank you, your Majesty. I guess… it’s good to be home again.” Her smile was a little sad, but it was more true emotion than she’d shown so far.

“Speaking of home,” Thor told Banner, “I believe I promised to return you to Midgard. The Bifrost is at your disposal.”

“Thanks, Thor. Loki said he was going there too, so… I guess it makes more sense for us to leave together.”

“Loki and I still need to decide what to do about Hela.”

Banner shrugged. “As I told him, I’ve been away for three years, a few more days won’t hurt.”

“Thank you, my friend.” With a heavy sigh, Thor stood. “Brother? Shall we?”

Brunnhilde and Banner stayed behind talking while Thor and Loki went down to the dungeon to speak to Hela. Loki was not at all looking forward to being there for any length of time, but it was too risky to let her out, even depowered.

She snarled as soon as she saw them. “How dare you imprison me? I am your queen!”

“It gives me no joy to see you here, sister,” Thor told her.

“Then release me and give me the throne.”

“I can’t do that. Not when you seem intent on bringing war to our doorstep.”

“You are weak,” she sneered.

“Asgard has changed since you’ve been… gone,” Loki said. “There hasn’t been a war for over a thousand years.” Well, if one didn’t count the thing with the Dark Elves – and it was over so quickly that it couldn’t really be considered a war. The last major conflict Asgard had been involved with had been against the Jotnar, and by all accounts it had been a terrible and bloody affair. Despite Thor’s desire for battle in the past – and his assertion that it was a good thing – Loki doubted the people would have been very thrilled with him if he’d gotten his wish. Now, after the Dark Elves’ incursion – and Hela’s own attack – that would be even truer. “People no longer crave conquest or the subjugation of others. Plus, people don’t know you, Hela. They will not bow to a stranger, no matter what claim you have.”

“And whose fault is that? That I have been forgotten?” She trembled with rage. “He took everything from me!”

“And I’m sorry about that.” He was. Loki had been ostracized in Asgard most of his life, but at least he had been known. He couldn’t imagine how awful it would be to simply be erased from existence against one’s will. Odin was a bastard, there was no question about it.

“I understand this must be confusing for you, sister, and frustrating, but we cannot simply let you destroy a thousand years of peace,” Thor added gently. They had agreed that trying to ‘rehabilitate’ Hela, as the humans put, would be much better in the long term than just locking her up and throwing away the key. Whether the endeavor would be successful or not was mostly up to her.

“We are not Odin,” Loki continued. “And we know from personal experience what a shitty father he was.” Thor grimaced at that, still conflicted about his feelings for Odin. “We don’t want to behave like him and lock you away, but you need to give us something here, Hela. People are dead because of you, and their families are in mourning. We can’t just forget that and set you free. Not yet, not without some reassurance that the realm won’t descend into chaos.”

For a while, she said nothing, and Loki thought perhaps she would actually listen, then she lunged at them with a scream of rage. The magical barrier made her bounce back, sending her sprawling into the floor.

Thor sighed. “Consider our words carefully, Hela. For your own sake.” With a head shake, Thor turned and began to walk back. Loki gave Hela one last pitying look and followed his brother. They had done the best they could. The ball was on Hela’s court now. Perhaps in time she would see the wisdom in their words.

It was time to go home. Thor wanted him to stay and speak to the Council, but Loki refused, for several reasons. First, because he had had quite enough of listening to those annoying old men, and he’d given Thor the throne precisely so he wouldn’t have to do that anymore. Second, because he didn’t think it was a good idea for Thor to be too publicly reliant on Loki, lest people get the impression that Loki had designs on the crown and was using Thor as a puppet king. Considering how some people felt about Loki (and about Jotuns in general, since his origin was public knowledge now), such concerns were definitely a possibility. It would be best to let Thor handle it all on his own. Now more than ever he needed to strengthen his position as king, and he couldn’t do that if Loki was lurking about. Third, he really, _really_ wanted to go home.

He had a final private conversation with Thor to help him outline some strategies for the realm and for Hela, then went to collect Banner. The man was sitting with Brunnhilde at the edge of the training grounds and they appeared deep in conversation.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m ready to leave,” he said.

“Oh, great.” He stood and offered a hand to the Valkyrie. “It was nice meeting you. And thanks. For… you know, everything in Sakaar.”

She held his arm in a warrior’s clasp, forearm to forearm. “Same here, Big Guy who isn’t actually that big.”

“Good luck with everything. Settling in and all.”

“Yeah, you too.”

“Perhaps you can visit us on Midgard someday,” Loki said. “Thor might need to send an emissary or something.”

“I’ve never been to Midgard. I think I’d like to see it.” There was a genuine smile on her face now, and it made her look younger. Loki hoped she’d be able to adjust to life in Asgard after so long away. Though he didn’t know her well, he certainly liked her a lot more than most of the warriors he’d ever met.

“You’d be very welcome.”

They said their final farewells and were off.

“Aren’t we going to the… Rainbow Bridge? Bifrost? Whatever it’s called.” Banner asked as they went deeper into the palace instead of out of it.

“No. I’m going to take us through the secret pathways, through the branches of Yggdrasil,” Loki replied.

“Hmm. Why? I mean, why not use the thing that’s built for that?”

“The Bifrost makes a rather big splash. There is no need to alarm the people of Earth. My way is more discreet.”

“Ah. Okay, sure.”

They reached the gardens. Loki could have started the journey from anywhere, really, but he liked the gardens, and he wanted to see it one last time before leaving.

“Prince Loki!”

The voice made them both turn. Lady Eir, Sylvi, Hingl and a couple of others whose names Loki didn’t recall were jogging in their direction.

“My Ladies,” he said with a bow. Banner gave them an awkward wave. “What can I do for you?” He was still a little surprised by their warm welcome, and by Sylvi’s indifference to his true form.

“I hope you weren’t planning on leaving without saying goodbye,” Lady Eir said with a smile.

“Ah…” was his eloquent response. He had been planning that, actually. He didn’t know they’d care.

“My dear boy, I haven’t seen you in ages, and we didn’t even get a chance to speak properly.” Eir’s tone was slightly reproaching, and Loki felt himself squirm a bit in embarrassment. Eir was the Chief Healer, and he’d known her since he was a child. Though Loki had never been particularly gifted at healing magic, he had studied with her for a time. She had been one of his best teachers, in fact, second only to his mother. As he’d gotten older he’d distanced himself from her – and, by extent, from her apprentices – because his association with her had not been well regarded. He’d caved to peer pressure – on this and on a lot of things – and it was only now that he realized how much poorer it had made his life. He should have said fuck it to Asgard’s stupid prejudices long ago. He might have made some real friends amongst these women. They had come to him to learn magic, and had always treated him well. It had been him who kept them at a distance, and it had been his decision to stop taking students.

Oh, what a fool he’d been.

“I’m sorry,” he told her, and it was the truth. “I’m afraid I really must go now, but I promise to return with more time later, so we can speak more.” Actually, now that he thought about it, her knowledge might be useful in helping him figure out how to extend Tony’s life. He looked at the other women, all of whom seemed eager to talk to him, and addressed them as well. “It would be my pleasure to spend more time with you at a future occasion.”

“We would like that very much, Prince Loki,” Sylvi said and the others nodded, all smiling.

Loki returned their smile, feeling warm inside. He’d had no idea he had so many allies in Asgard.

“We look forward to your return, then.” Eir bowed and the others followed suit. “Safe travels, my Prince.”

“Thank you, Lady Eir.” Figuring it was better to leave now before he got all misty-eyed, Loki took Banner’s arm and led him a little further away. “Ready?”

“Hmm, yeah, sure.”

They arrived at his usual spot in a secluded corner of Central Park in New York City. It was nighttime in Midgard, and he could hear the distant sounds of life even from here.

“Shit, what was that?” Banner wobbled slightly, shaking his head and grimacing.

“My apologies. I forgot the sensation can be a bit disorientating for those who aren’t used to it. Are you all right?”

Banner took a few deep breaths and calmed down. “Yeah, I’m fine.” He looked around. “Where are we?”

“Central Park. Come on, I’ll take us to the Tower.” He reached for the man’s arm, then hesitated. “Or do you need a minute?”

“No, I’m fine. Let’s go.”

It was a matter of seconds to reach the penthouse in the Tower. He was about to ask Jarvis where Tony was when the man himself came running to literally throw himself in Loki’s arms. Loki had to catch him to keep the mortal from falling on the floor. It was a good thing he was stronger than a human, or they would both have ended up crashing down.

“Loki! You’re back! You’ve been gone for ages. What happened?”

Loki smiled and kissed him. Norns, he’d missed Tony. “I’ve brought you a present, darling.”

“Brucie-bear!” Tony’s grin threatened to split his face as he let go of Loki to give a rather bewildered Banner a hug. Loki listened to Tony’s rapid fire questions with undisguised affection.

It was good to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next story is going to be my take on Infinity War. I'm 30k into it, and it should be about 50k in total. I've got it mostly planned out, and I've a pretty good momentum going on it, so it should be done soon. 
> 
> Stay safe, everyone. :)

**Author's Note:**

> So, as you can see, there are going to be a lot of changes to the movie. My first problem was that, since in this series Odin was in Asgard and not Earth, Hela had to appear in the former. And if they were all in Asgard, there was no reason for Thor and Loki to go through the Bifrost so they could be thrown off it and into Sakaar. So I needed another way for them to end up in Sakaar. What I decided on was that Hela knew the portal to Sakaar existed, so she sent Thor and Loki through it instead of killing them.
> 
> It seemed that Hela knew about Thor and Loki in the movie, even though she’d been in prison since before they were born, which was odd to me. So, here she doesn’t know anything that’s been happening while she was gone. I’m going with the idea that Odin’s prison kept Hela in a kind of stasis, so she has only been aware of the world outside since Odin started to get weaker. That means she’s angry but hasn’t gone completely insane from being locked up alone for millennia. She’s still bloodthirsty though.


End file.
